


Autumn Bride

by Shivanessa



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, alpha ruled society, omegas are slaves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:22:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16266026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivanessa/pseuds/Shivanessa
Summary: Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, and philantrophist, buys an omega because there’s no other way to keep his father’s company. Pepper and him never discussed kids and when the married couple finds themselves in company of a shy young man who is supposed to be bred, general questions arise.





	1. Engagement

**Author's Note:**

> Much Thanks to Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing the first chapters (https://aoifelaufeyson.tumblr.com)
> 
> The story is inspired by marvelingmarvel1's moodboard works (https://marvelingmarvel1.tumblr.com)
> 
> Hooray, first fiction ever on Ao3, im so proud...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many many thanks for LovelyGarnet for her beautiful cover fanart! Check out her stuff on Tumblr too!

From Bucklethorpe’s _sociology book for fifth graders on social structures in modern societies_ , chapter 5.2:

Since humans came into view of history, it is obvious, that sex and gender do not necessarily interact. Every person has one sex which means that they are either _alphas_ (dominant, aggressive, assertive, able to sire children), _betas_ (calm, hard-working, infertile) or _omegas_ (shy, weak, able to bear children). Gender however, is how people appear to others per view. A person can define themselves as male, female or between, but mostly choose one of the opposite. Gender definition is shown through cloths, hair, behavior and such. In the north-western culture people who define themselves as males often wear their hair short and grow beards while females do the opposite. This differs in different cultures (for more information on cultures see chapter 5.4). To talk about a person, it is appropriate to do this based on the chosen gender, not the sex: Someone who presents as male is to be called he, a person who present as female as her, others may indicate what they prefer, since it is a very personal thing.

Human’s bodies however, are different in other aspects: Alphas are equipped with genitals to sire children, no matter if they define their gender as female or male – like stated above sex and gender are non-influential on each other. On the other hand, omega’s genitals are made to conceive an alphas seed. Omegas are the only sex who are able to nurture the children. During the last part of their pregnancy, they develop small breasts filled with milk. These fade after the weaning. Betas can have both genitals but all of them are infertile and sexual intercourse is just for pleasure and social binding. Alphas and omegas are characterized by their heighted senses, especially the smelling and here especially recognizing the scents of other alphas and omegas.

Omegas from the start of puberty go into heat, at least two times a year. During that time the omega is fertile and even more weak and vulnerable. They are to be shielded away from others and tended to, since omegas in heat are helpless. If unmated, the omega scent during a heat will attract every alpha in the surrounding and instill the urge to mate in them. This has been brought up by nature, to allow a wide variety in genetic pool but in modern times we handle this in other ways. Hence they are stronger in will and body, alphas rule our society for the benefit of all people and omegas must be protected. This has resulted in restrictions of their civil rights. They are brought up in special schools, the best of them assigned to a powerful alpha, to conceive their children. […]

 

***

 

A perfectly trimmed lawn reached up to the elegant brick mansion. Tony lifted his sunglasses and looked up to the three level building at the end of the gravel path. His driver, Happy, waited behind him, taking the opportunity to be in the warm autumn sun until Tony finished his business.

The trim estate surrounding the New York State Omega School presented the colors of the season: warm brown, dazzling gold and bright yellow adorned the old trees and bushes. Not a single leaf laid on the evenly cut grass.

The gravel scrunched under Tony’s shoes as he walked up to the main entrance, a massive double door made of dark wood, with a decorative grille. The windows of the building too were – decoratively – grilled. Somehow the school appeared more like a well-kept and adorned prison.

Three brick steps lead up to the entrance and a young man was busy to sweep there. Leaves, carried by the wind, had become entangled on the bricks and the servant did his best to brush them into a dustpan. Simultaneously he tried to hold a rake, a bin and a broom, bowing low to scrub at the rough stone. Tony tried to sneak past the absorbed boy but as he put his foot on the first step the servant finished and straightened up. The broom stick moved from under his arm and knocked Tony in the head.

“Ouch!”

The boy whirled around with wide eyes, forgetful of the rake, that hit Tony in the stomach. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it wasn’t an experience Tony was used to and he cursed loudly. This startled the boy so much that he let go of everything he held. Broom, rake, shovel and bin clattered to the ground and the bin poured his content over their feet. Colorful leaves, like a golden brown stream, were taken by the wind and sprinkled over the flawless lawn.

“Oh no.” The boy looked devastated, but more because of his futile effort it seemed. That was until he remembered hitting a stranger with his instruments.

He turned to Tony and reached out with his hand, but refrained from touching him at the last moment.

“I’m SO sorry, Sir. I wasn’t paying attention. Oh god, have I hurt you? Please don’t be hurt!” Wide chocolate brown eyes looked at Tony. He frowned.

“I’ve had worse” he answered and put his sunglasses on, looking the servant up and down. The boy wasn’t noteworthy – pretty in his own way with brown hair and brown eyes but nothing special. Something about him however, was off. A breeze confirmed the suspicion when an unmistakable omega scent graced Tony’s nose. A nice, tempting fragrance of sweets and summer rain. His eyebrows rose.

“You’re no servant.” he stated. Why was the boy tending the lawn if he was an omega, one of the few, precious creatures who were raised at this school, in order to be taken in by a wealthy family to receive and birth their kids. Tony had envisioned these omegas as spoiled brats who sat on silken pillows all day, looking pretty, and waiting to be chosen.

The boy curtsied, which looked strange and outdated. Given that unmated omegas were not to be touched, it was a way for them to greet somebody formally without shaking a hand. And it made them look sweet and graceful which probably was why it was encouraged.

“N… no. I’m Peter. Uhm. I’m no servant. But. I maintain the garden. Today, that is.” He looked up at Tony from under his lashes as if he tried to gauge his reaction, shy and nervous in front of a strange alpha.

“And why is that?” Tony asked, suddenly curious about the omega at front of him. He never had met one before, since omegas lived in closed off areas since the moment they presented. After their ‘engagement’, which was in Tony’s eyes, nothing more than a euphemism for ‘sold’, omegas often were confined to the house that bought them.

Peter blushed adorably.

“I’m a… uh… a nuisance. That’s why. If you’d excuse me please, Sir…”

With Tony’s confirming nod, he knelt down to gather his tools and started over with the leaves on the lawn.

Tony entered the building, deep in thought.

He had from the beginning felt uncomfortable with the thought of buying a person to impregnate them. But Pepper had insisted because of the testament and the company and his life’s work and all that shit. She had already contacted the school to narrow down the choices.

‘You don’t have to decide anything, just go there and fetch one of the omegas I’ve have been recommended. The one who you like the scent of’ she had said and kissed him goodbye. She knew of his issues with the whole deal and had tried to make it as easy as possible for him. In a couple of minutes, he would meet the principle in order to learn about the omegas Pepper had chosen to have a closer look at. What would he do without her?

The bright hallways appeared as flawless as the lawn outside and equally devoid of living beings. Tony’s footsteps resounded loudly on the marble floor and the more he saw of the school the more he had the urge to flee and never come back.

 

***

 

Three glossy photos were laying on the principal’s desk in front of Tony. The elder beta behind it wore a neat costume and a high bun, looking all professional. She smiled friendly at him. All three of the depicted omegas where female in their appearance, tall, lean, and varied only in their hair color. All of them were seventeen, common for omegas who were about to be ‘engaged’, and extremely beautiful.

“Mrs. Stark didn’t give precise instructions on the omegas you’d like to meet, but according to that you are married to a female appearing beta… These omegas are the best our school has to offer. Perfect grades, perfect measurements.” The principal smiled proudly. She didn’t have to state that Tony was the wealthiest and most influential client her school could dream of and that she would cut off her arm to get one of her omegas into his house. The different schools competed with each other and subtle plaques in the hallways pointed to which upper class client graced the institution with their trust and money.

“Of course…” the principal continued “there is always the matter of scent…” She smiled, as if she knew what she was talking about. Betas, who were able to smell like alphas and omegas, were unheard of but she tried. “Maybe you chose one, based on the short profile and I will call her, so that you can meet…”

Tony looked at the pictures without seeing them. His mind was drawn to the memory of a sweet and subtle scent, like candy and summer. He tapped absent-mindedly on one of the photos.

“Say… I met an omega on my way here.” He looked up. “A boy named Peter.”

The beta behind the desk frowned for a second at the mentioned name but gathered herself pretty quickly and smiled.

“Oh… Peter. Yes. I hope he didn’t bother you. He is rather… clumsy.”

Tony smiled at the memory of that.

“He seemed to be seventeen too, am I right?”

The principal looked shocked. “You… with all due respect, Mr. Stark! You are not considering choosing Peter Parker, are you?”

Tony frowned. “Why not? What is it with him?” He didn’t like to be duped and – typical alpha, haha – he was going into offensive. “Why was he tending to the front lawn in the first place, an omega in the proper age to become engaged?”

The beta stood up and walked to the window, looking out as if she expected to see the topic of their conversation out there.

“I… I fear that he is not able to become engaged. He is indeed the right age, almost eighteen in fact. But… “ She turned and faced Tony. “He hasn’t had his first heat yet. He presented at the age of eleven and we expected his first heat with thirteen or fourteen, but… I fear that he will not be able to carry children.”

“But he IS an omega, right?” Tony asked, curious. Omega’s were defined by their ability to conceive and birth children and their scent to attract alphas to sire them. What was he, if he wasn’t fertile?!

“Yes, yes, he has the… uhm… necessary organs and smells omega, but. Well…” she took a seat again, straightening her skirt with her hands. “I must advise against choosing Peter. Don’t get me wrong, he is a sweet boy, but… in fact, he isn’t from a good family either.” She lowered her voice as if letting Tony in on a secret. “We do not know the least bit about his lineage since he was orphaned as a five-year-old. He lived with his aunt until he presented and we took him in because the omega medic recommended his features. But he did not live up to the expectations. And if you met him you have seen that he is a dub. Hopeless. You don’t want that as the bearer of your children, I’m sure.” She intertwined her fingers on the desk and smiled as if she had solved a problem for Tony.

 

***

 

Happy waited at the front door to receive the omega Tony had paid a horrendous price for and to carry his luggage into the car. It took some time until the scratching of boots on the gravel hinted at someone nearing the car. Tony saw the figure approaching through the tinted window and put his sunglasses back on. The omega appeared timid and small and Tony felt something inside of him ache at the thought of taking such a creature home. But it was too late and Happy opened the door on the opposite side of Tony’s seat.

Peter got in and pushed a wayward curl of his wind-ruffled hair out of his face. He was pale and his dark eyes appeared huge in the dimly lit backseat, but his face disclosed nothing of the boy’s feelings.

“Thank you for choosing me, Sir.” He said with a soft voice. His eyes fell to his hands in his lap, as if it was impolite to look at Tony directly.

Tony took his sunglasses down and smiled in a reassuring way, or at least he hoped that he did.

“You’re welcome.” He searched for the right words. What do you say to a person you recently bought? ‘Don’t worry, you were a cheap deal since you’re damaged goods.’?

“I hope Happy wasn’t to grumpy when he fetched you.” Tony grinned. “He basically is the Grouch, especially before he has his lunch” he tried a joking tone and thumbed in the direction of the driver’s seat, where a gruff ‘Hey!’ rang out. Peter’s eyes wandered from him to Happy and back without recognizing the humor. Tony sighed.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” He smiled again but even to him the words sounded hollow.


	2. Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing the chapter - yay! 
> 
> I'm on Tumblr too: https://TonyPeterStark.tumblr.com

They drove upstate through the autumn woods.

After some time, Peter’s sweet scent filled the car and Tony found that he liked it. It was like a balm, something he had never had before, nice and relaxing – especially the more Peter himself relaxed. At first the omega had been anxious, but that had faded while they drove in silence. It was awesome how much one could read from another one’s scent. Tony knew this and had experienced it with other alphas. With them it mostly had been a rivalry, challenge and agitation, nothing like what the omega was emanating.

Peter watched the scenery go by, his posture upright and his hands folded in his lap. Like a child, he seemed to absorb everything he saw, and for the first time Tony wondered if the boy had ever left the school.

“You like what you see?” he asked with a friendly voice. Peter flinched and darted a glance in Tony’s direction.

“I’m sorry?” he asked hesitantly. The anxious scent was back.

“The landscape. The region is pretty rural, compared to the city in the south. My mansion is upstate, a decent place, but not quite the hub of the world.” He grinned, but it had almost no effect on Peter. The boy watched him and listened to Tony had finished. Then he looked down at his hands again. Tony noted that Peter still sat on the front of the seat, his back upright as bound to a stick.

“Hey…” At the sound of Tony’s voice Peter looked at him again. “Try to relax okay? We’ll arrive at my place around noon. Then we’ll get you settled and you can have a look around for yourself. We don’t need to rush anything.” Like breeding, he thought with a shiver that wasn’t – to his own surprise – only disgust.

“I want to get to know you and… we will see to other things later, okay?”  
Peter smiled at him for the first time. It was a small smile, shy and self-conscious but Tony counted it as a win.

 

***

Tony and Peter arrived upstate and the omega’s eyes were full of wonder when Happy drove up the driveway. Pepper liked the garden in a British-style and thus the gardener created an almost natural appearance. Willows lined the path to the front of the mansion where Happy stopped the car. Tony jumped out before Happy was able to get the door for him, but the driver kept a straight face. Peter followed Tony up the stairs. The front door was already opened, leading into a wide entrance hall with white marble floor.

Peter stepped over the threshold, but stopped dead as soon as he saw the ‘person’ who had opened for them. Tony however, didn’t recognize the omega’s distress and went further in, accompanied by a slender figure with almost human proportions. Sleek metal formed a body with two arms and hands, a head and legs. The feet seemed to be equipped with tiny wheels because the figure glided next to Tony over the floor without a sound. The head was almost smooth, only indications of mouth, nose and eyes showed which part was the front. Somehow the thing seemed to be able to see and hear, and even speak.

“Mr. Stark, welcome home.” The voice sounded a bit tinny, but resembled a women’s voice in most parts. The robot closed the door behind Peter and turned to take Tony’s coat.

“Thank you Friday. Everything in order?”

The robot nodded.  
“Mrs. Stark will be down in a minute. She advised me to arrange everything for your arrival.”

Friday glided next to Tony while he strolled into the mansion. Before he could ask what kind of arrangements Friday meant a female voice fell down from one of the open staircases.

“Good that you made it back in time. I would have hated to leave without saying goodbye.”

Tony’s face lit up when he saw Pepper descending from the upper level, her appearance flawless like always. She was dressed for business, in an off-white outfit with matching heels. The bag on her arm belonged to a set, the other part a suitcase that awaited her at the foot of the steps. Pepper smiled at Tony and kissed his cheek. He took her hand.

“I thought you would leave tomorrow, like usual.” Tony said but Pepper shook her head.

“Hill has send a message. Fury needs to discuss the latest issue about Ross. I think it would be better to be in town tonight to meet Fury first thing in the morning.”

Tony pouted, but quickly gathered himself.

“Can’t be helped, it seems. Have a safe trip my dear. Happy is still outside, he can drive you to the train station.” Tony answered and then remembered that he didn’t come home alone. “Meet Peter by the way. Peter, this is my lovely wife, Pepper. Sadly, she is always on duty, so no time for getting-together.” He introduced them to each other. Peter curtsied, his eyes low.

“It is an honor, Mrs. Stark. I’ll do my best to support you.”

Pepper’s eyebrows rose and it was obvious that she didn’t know how to answer that, so she just nodded. With a final look at Tony she shrugged and made her way to the door, the suitcase trailing behind her. When she had left, Tony turned to Peter, his eyebrows raised.

“Hey, what was that? You didn’t say anything about supporting ME, when we met! I could do with a little support too!” He didn’t mean it, of course, he just was his usual snarky self, but Peter paled in a way that made Tony cringe inside.

“I… I didn’t, I… I’m sorry… I…”

Tony backpedaled already.

“Hey… hey, calm down.” Tony raised his hands calmingly. “It was a joke. Just a joke. I’m sorry, okay?”

Peter looked as if he was about to faint. It felt as if Tony had kicked a puppy. Not good. Memo to self: No joking in front of puppy eyes. He tried to lift the mood again.

“How about Friday takes you to your room and you get settled in? We can meet later, maybe for dinner?”

At Peter’s small nod Tony left him with Friday and the arrangements that had been made. What a horrible day. He flew to his workshop, trying to forget the helpless creature in his care and the place he got him from.

 

***

Peter had never seen a mansion like this – the buzz even outshone his strung up nerves. The entrance hall floor had been marble and plush carpet, the paneling dark, noble wood and the railings shone like gold – and that wasn’t the best part! Friday was the most advanced piece of tech he’d ever seen! Peter never had considered such a thing as possible.

He tried to contain his excitement and trotted behind the robot through a plain door that hid a small staircase. This obviously was the servant’s area because the decoration that graced the main part of the mansion, was nowhere to be found here. But even here the lights lining up the stairs wasn’t gas or candles. It seemed that it the entire house was fully equipped with electricity, a much brighter light source than candles. In the school only the principal’s office and common rooms had had such modern light. He had been impressed by Mr. Stark’s car in the first place, a Bugatti Royale with a lot of specials. A lot of everyday people still relied on horses or their own feet. But he had never even heard of anything like the robot before, let alone seen such with his own eyes. Her feet somehow had changed from wheels to smooth soles that got a grip on the wooden stairs. Tony Stark obviously was not only a rich man, but also an admirer of modern technology.

He was curious about the rest of the mansion. How many rooms where there? Where they as beautiful as the entrance hall? Did Mr. Stark hide more technical wonders like Friday somewhere? Was there running water within the house like he had heard about the upper class in the city? And how would his room look like? Peter’s face heated up when he remembered his purpose in this house. Would his room be attached to Mr. Stark’s chambers? He doubted it, since Mr. Stark was married. One important part of the education in the New York State Omega School had been about beta partners of the alpha with whom the omega became engaged. It was absolutely necessary to prevent jealousy and rivalry with the established relationship or the omega would be thrown out in no time after their first or second pregnancy. And every student knew very precisely what that meant.

Peter shoved the thoughts about Mr. and Mrs. Stark and his own role out of his mind. It wouldn’t do to ponder on it since he wasn’t in the position to choose or change anything. He hoped that Flash had exaggerated his tales of how much it could hurt when the alpha would visit his bed for the first time, especially since Peter never had a heat yet. He stopped that thought also and took a deep breath.

In the servant’s area they walked through everything was clean and plain, easy to maintain and keep in order. Peter wondered how many servants Mr. Stark employed and if they were busy cleaning somewhere because nobody was to be seen. Maybe he himself would be assigned with similar duties. It depended on the alpha what an omega was to do. Would he meet the head of the staff next? He thought about asking Friday, but the robot intimidated him, so he kept his head low and his mouth shut.

He followed her up another flight of stairs and into a small corridor that was even more plain as the staircase. How far up was he supposed to stay he wondered. He felt an uneasy feeling creeping up his spine. Obviously there was not often somebody coming up here for a couple of cobwebs graced the corners. They walked till the end of the small hallway, leaving simple wooden doors on their left and right behind until Friday reached an even smaller door. She opened it and showed him to get inside.

Peter stepped through the doorway and stopped dead. He blinked.

The room was… small. Dim light fell from a tiny round roof hatch into the dreary chamber that was just spacey enough to contain a small metal-framed bed, a chair and a board with a washbasin and a night pot. When Peter would get up in the morning, he would have to dress in the small area between the bed and the opposite furniture to have enough space. The sloping roof was so low that Peter would only be able to stand upright when he stayed within close proximity of the door. Shadows loomed in the deepest parts and behind the chair, the dark wooden floor let the room appear even smaller and gloomier. Peter felt his throat go tight. The room wasn’t welcoming in the slightest, more of a broom closet with a bed. Away from the rest of the house. His eyes went moist but he blinked it away and pressed his lips together.

Maybe Mr. Stark was not aware of this development. Maybe Mrs. Stark was responsible for this arangement. It was as likely as not. It could be that this was how the couple saw his place in their house.

The door closed behind him with a soft click. With a sinking heart, he looked into the small chamber that would be his home now.


	3. Goals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very much thanks again for the lovely beta Aoife Laufeyson, who is not just beta-ing but also encouraging and cheering! <3

Tony had forgotten to get back into the house for dinner and Friday hadn’t disturbed his working relaxation. When he finally put the tools down and rubbed his burning eyes he noted that it was already dawning. He gulped.

He looked around. It seemed that somewhere on the way he had eaten a sandwich, because there was a plate decorated with crumbs.

Tony sighed. Every time Pepper left for New York he buried himself in his tinkering, forgetting to sleep, eat, wash – until she came back, wrinkling her exquisite nose and ordering him into the bathtub. She was a beta, but only in regard of her fertility status. Her willpower alone could put any alpha in their place.

That was one of the reasons why she was in charge of his company. At first the alphas in his management had complained about Tony giving his former assistant the key to his empire but she had fought for herself on that matter. In fact, Pepper had enough she had to go against: How could a beta, literally a person with no backbone and assertiveness, possibly lead an empire, let alone a discussion between alphas. How should she gauge the mood if she was not able to decipher the scent of the alphas? Was she even equipped to fight for the company’s best interest?

Pepper proved these arguments wrong, one after another. In fact, her calmness and her nose-blindness could be used as an advantage, because even if the atmosphere during a meeting got heated Pepper wasn’t influenced by the aggressive scent surrounding her. Tony had always hated such situations, when other alphas went into confrontation mode and Tony’s own alpha nerves reacted to the scent marks in a way he felt disgusted by. He often had relied on snarky comments and the knowledge that it was his father’s money that paid the salary of the alpha in front of him, to get through such situations. It was common in a discussion between alphas that one of the competitors flipped the table – and that wasn’t just a metaphor.

But no more. Pepper had implemented new rules for socially acceptable behavior during discussions, kept a calm head because she wasn’t affected by the aggressive hormones in the air and finally she riveted the conference table to the meeting room floor. After that no alpha in her board tried again to confront her.

‘She is an alpha in a beta body’ or ‘She is almost an alpha, at least inside’ were the slogans that began to spread within Stark Industries and the problem was solved. Tony hadn’t liked it when Pepper told him about it. Why weren’t people able to see the truth – that she was a capable and fierce person in the first place, and ALSO a beta. But she had smiled at him and said ‘This is the world, Tony. And I’m too relieved about them accepting me to look for another fight to defend my beta honor’. And that was that.

Tony was able to retire, withdraw into the mansion upstate and to work on his new ideas – to the benefit of Stark Industries of course. Pepper stayed the week in the city, leading the enterprise on the new paths they both had decided on after Obadiah’s death: No more weapons, more technological progress or everybody.

The main part of the population still lived with candles and an outhouse. Tony and Pepper wanted to change that. And they had discovered a market niche. Most alpha lead industries tended to work on prestigious projects: Weapons, cars, high class furnishings. To prepare obtainable goods for the broad part of the (beta-)population was a market segment not many companies catered to. And the betas loved the new path of stark industries.

Tony’s most innovative technology was the solar energy generator, which should be ready in a few years for series production and thus be able to provide every household in the state of New York with their own electricity. After that everyday luxury for everybody was within reach. Since the cooperation with Dr. Banner had grown roots, Stark Industries expanded into the medical sector too, in order to better the living conditions.

Such thoughts kept Tony alive. After he had found out how the former goods of Stark Industries had been used – during an involuntary stay in a cave – he put all his effort into making the world a little bit better. And his tills were ringing, something nobody had expected.

He yawned. From the workshop barn to the house it was just a short way and Friday kept the backdoor open for him at all times. He slipped insight, only disturbing a small robotic vacuum cleaner on duty on his way to bed.

***

Tony woke in the late afternoon, feeling like his mouth was stuffed with cotton. He squinted into the dimly lit bedroom and tried to gather his thoughts. His new project was almost finished. A little more and…

He got up, washing and choosing clothes in auto mode while he thought about the problem with the gas supply. A thought occurred in the backside of his mind, small and unnoticed first, but it quickly got backup from body parts beneath the head and thus got stronger. Food.

Tony went down and decided to take a longer break until he would get back to work. Autumn was in full mode and this high upstate the cold already crept through the cracks of the barn. It would do him good to get properly awake and warmed before he went back there. He ordered Friday to call the cook in order to prepare tea and some sandwiches, a tradition he had grown fond of since meeting Dr. Banner regularly.

Another thought made it through the working haze in his head.

Somebody to meet. Not Dr. Banner. Not Rhodey. Pepper was in New York…

Peter! Tony’s eyes widened. How could he have forgotten the newest member of his pix ‘n’ mix family. They had come here yesterday, right? He checked the calendar. Right. Okay. At least the boy had had time to settle in without being forgotten for too long.

“Friday, how’s Peter’s status. Is he alright?”

Friday glided through the door, carrying a tray with tea, cups and sandwiches.

“Mr. Peter is in his room. He has not left there since arrival. I checked on him this morning and brought him breakfast.”

It was almost four p.m.

Tony nodded to himself. Host’s duties, alright.

Obviously Peter was too shy to explore the mansion on his own. Well, he could give him a tour before he got started on his project again, but it would do good to start with a little socializing.

“So, time to get to know each other… Friday, be a sweetheart and go ask him, if he wants to join me for tea, will you?”

While Friday scurried away Tony took the opportunity to check if he was presentable. It would do no good to scare the omega to death because in his working haze Tony had put his underwear above his jeans or something like that. He had visited the school in a three-piece suit for good measure, but at home he preferred simple jeans and T-shirts. Because of the weather he had chosen a long sleeved one under his usual short sleeved for more warmth but the overall impression was alright. Satisfied he looked up. Everything was in order and his clothes were not too formal. Hopefully it would help Peter to feel more at home here.

 

***

Tony had chosen to have tea in the library of the mansion, an institution his late mother had insisted on and filled with a wide variety of books. It was a nice room, dry flowers decorated the bookshelves and small tables between different kinds of cozy seating. Lamps spend warm lights and a fireplace completed the atmosphere – despite the fact that Tony had equipped the whole house with central heating he had kept the fireplace in the library for the nice glow. The huge windows on the right overlooked the garden and the pond. According to Pepper this place was ideal to relax. Furthermore, with guests the books gave a topic to talk about, if the conversation did not evolve itself.

Peter arrived a couple of minutes later and entered the room behind Friday. The omega came to stand in front of Tony and curtsied, the eyes drawn to the floor. Submissive. Tony scrunched up his face.

“Hey there. This up and down is not necessary, you know.” Tony motioned with his hand to indicate that he meant the curtsying. “I get sea-sick from it if I’m honest.” Peter looked up as if to gauge his reaction. Tony saw his nose wiggle slightly, when he tried to find out if Tony smelled angry or not. Cute. He tried to make it easier for Peter with a lopsided grin. The omega relaxed and nodded.

“Care to join me for a cup of tea? A sandwich? Both?” Tony felt relieved that for once his joke had not had scared Peter. They were making progress!

When the boy followed him to the side table where Friday had arranged the tea set Tony felt more and more at ease. He poured both of them a cup of the steaming brown liquid, added a bit of milk and handed Peter one of the dishes. These also belonged to his late mother and he held them in high regard, even if the flowery decoration on the porcelain wasn’t really – figuratively – his cup of tea.

Peter took the cup with care and smiled politely, thanking Tony. Now that they were only a couple of feet from each other Tony could again smell Peter’s unique scent. He inhaled, trying not to be too obvious about it and wondered if his own scent was as nice for Peter as it was the other way round. But that was not only a very rude question but also a very low chance that the omega would answer honestly.

“So… how do you like the house so far?” Tony jumped on the first topic he could think of, that was not attached to something uncomfortable ore salacious. Peter looked at him with his huge brown eyes.

“It is… very beautiful. And amazing. You… uhm… the whole house is so cutting-edge. With electricity and all that!” He bit his lip and blushed, lowering his eyes as if he had said too much. But Tony was delighted.

“Yes, isn’t it! I saw to that myself. After my parents died… well, I took the opportunity to modernize the old thing. Now there isn’t just electric light in all rooms but also central heating and running water in the whole mansion. Currently I’m working on modernizing the village down the road. It’s a kind of pilot project to see how the people react to the new technologies. After that we want to go into production and…” He stopped and smiled apologetically, raising his hands. Peter regarded him with huge eyes.

“I’m sorry, I got carried away I guess. Speaking about such things…”

Peter smiled at him and shook his head slowly. His eyes shone.

“No. I mean… uhm… please, go on. You… this sounds… amazing.”

Tony wasn’t sure if Peter tried to be polite or if he truly was interested in Tony’s rambling. He decided to stay safe and change topic before Peter died of boredom.

“Well, however…“ he took a sip of the cooling tea in his hand and let his eyes wander around to find a new topic.

“Hey, if you’re bored you always can come down and have a look at these.” He pointed into the direction of the various bookshelves. His smile went unanswered, Peter, who had set his cup back down on the table, turned to him and regarded him with a clueless look. Tony waited for him to answer.

“What do you mean?” the boy asked after a few seconds with a shy voice.

Tony blinked? What was there to understand? He walked over to one shelf and brushed over the backside of some of the books there.

“Well, to read, of course. I think a lot of them are my mother’s choice but I’m sure there will be some novels you might enjoy and…”

“I cannot read.” Peter stated with an expressionless face. Tony stared at him until red blotches appeared on Peter’s cheeks, revealing the turmoil hidden beneath the surface.

“Omegas are not allowed to learn how to read.” He explained in an almost defensive way, looking to the side.

Tony was devastated. How in Edison’s name was that possible?

“What on earth have they been teaching you the last six years in that school?!” he asked, honestly shocked about the revelation. Even the poorest of the poor betas had a formal education in reading, writing and arithmetic. The society as based on these things!

Peter clearly felt uncomfortable in the face of his lacking skills. His voice had a defying touch when he answered, his face red and his eyes glued to the floor.

“H…how to take care of kids? Newborns and toddlers and even older ones?” He gulped. “And how to sew, and clean and even cook if that is required. How to make ourselves useful in the alpha’s household. And… how to entertain.” Embarrassment rose like steam from the boy

Tony didn’t get the signs.

“Entertain? What is that supposed to mean?!”

Peter looked up. He gulped. Then he stepped a bit closer.

But instead of showing a neat magic trick or a successful example of juggling, he went down to his knees, reaching for Tony’s zipper.


	4. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of thanks for Aoife Laufeyson, who is beta-ing again! <3

In shock, Tony looked down at the boy who was on his knees in front of him. The realization of what the boy was about to do stunned him. This could not be happening! It felt like a bucket of ice cold water rushing down his neck when Peter’s face neared his crotch. That finally brought him back to his senses. Horrified at what the school had drilled into the omega, Tony slapped Peter’s hands away. The forgotten cup in his hand spilled tea over the kneeling boy, making him flinch.

Tony, genuinely on the edge, took a couple of steps back.  
“I… that… you…” he stammered. What else has the boy had to learn in order to ‘entertain’?! Tony’s mind wasn’t able to process such a thing. He took the first way out.

“I think you should go back to your room. I’ll… I’ll be in my workshop.  We’ll talk about this. Later.” He turned and left the room, trying to ignore the look of hurt and shame on Peter’s face. 

Much later. Preferably never!  
  
***

Peter got up and brushed over his knees, even though they weren’t dirtied. But he felt dirty. He swiped away the few drops of tea on his face too. Ashamed and embarrassed and … worthless. He couldn’t even apologize for his lapse. If it had been one. He didn’t know.

‘Go to your room’. A precise order, he would have to carry out as soon as possible. Friday entered the library to clean away the tea and sandwiches. Peter eyed them hungrily, but he had forfeited his chance of being fed again it seemed. He knew the way to his room already and didn’t see a possibility to prolong his stay downstairs. With hunched up shoulders, he hurried to the servant’s stairs.

On his way back he met no living soul. The servant’s hallways seemed abandoned and barren, which reinforced his own feelings of loneliness and desolation. He swallowed at the thought that he would be alone in the attic room again. It felt like punishment. 

By law, only an alpha had the right to deal physical punishment, and this only to the omega engaged to him. So the school refrained from such practices. But there had been other ways to maintain control. Solitary confinement was a common punishment for omegas who stepped out of line. Peter had had his fill of that, he wasn’t always able to foresee the outcomes of his actions. His mouth was dry when he took the last couple of steps to the wooden door that led to the room. 

Inside Peter didn’t turn on the light, even if the sun was low on the horizon and the room laid in the dark. This way he wasn’t forced to look at the bleak chamber that reminded him of past and future fears. He closed the door behind him and leaned on the wood, his eyes closed. Now that he successfully messed things up, he saw clearly what had gone wrong. Of course he knew. How many lessons had he had in entertaining?  
Go slow, seductive, wait for the alpha to show what he wanted, to take the lead. Alphas do not like omegas who dash forward. He should have offered, with a lovely smile, like he had been told during tiresome role-plays a hundred times. 

‘Why haven’t you smiled? It doesn’t matter what you really feel! Smile!’ he heard his entertainment teacher scold. Flash had mocked him for it. ‘You could not be seductive to save your life! You didn’t even make it to get into heat!’ 

Peter hung his head. Maybe he belonged here, in this tiny room, out of the way. With effort he pushed the thoughts of his questionable fertility status out of his mind. It would not do to ponder on that. The principal had made very clear that Mr. Stark was informed about the issue. In spite of it, he had chosen Peter. The omega bit his lip, thinking.

Mr. Stark had tried to be friendly it seemed, to make him feel at home, offered to let him use the library even. But the alpha obviously didn’t have a clue how omegas were educated. How wasn’t he aware of that, being an alpha and wealthy enough to buy himself a high priced broodmare?  
No matter how much he thought about it, Peter wasn’t able to make sense out of the contradictory behavior of the alpha. Speaking nicely to him, making him feel safe, then giving him this broom cupboard of a room, putting him into his place. Inviting him for tea, but not feeding him the rest of the day. Making him embarrass himself and sending him away after, shocked about it.

It could be that Mr. Stark was a lunatic. Or simply forgetful and absent-minded. The man definitely was hard to read! Peter hoped that he would not turn out to be a sadist who liked to play with his prey before he pulled out the big guns. 

In fact, he didn’t know what to expect and he had no other way to find out but to wait.

***

Tony didn’t complete his project, but spent the day in his workshop nevertheless. It was a way of hiding, but he tried to not think about that. In fact, he hated how he had reacted, but there had not been an alternative. He knew that he was handicapped around people and it seemed that that multiplied if the people were handicapped too. What else was Peter, if not socially challenged, brought up the way he had obviously been. Tony was about to tear his hair out over this fucked up situation, but that would do no good. He decided to do some forging until his mind had cleared. Violent hammering always helped with that.

He knew that he was difficult. Pepper had spent years in his close proximity, always patient and calm, before he had opened up to her. His own upbringing hadn’t exactly encouraged him to seek out comfort in other human beings. Coming to terms with Pepper had been possible because she always was clear. Precise. She did not confuse him with saying one thing and meaning another. If she thought he had his head up his ass, she told him so and gave him the chance to rectify that. When he bought her strawberries as an apology she told him right away that this was the only thing in the world she was allergic to, giving him a chance to try again. And again. And again if needed. He could work with that. Given enough chances, he was capable of accomplishing everything. He was learning!

With Rhodey it had been the same. He knew Tony since college and had never taken his shit. But he at least tolerated it. Complained about it, yes. But stayed, nevertheless. Good old Rhodey. 

Happy, the newest member of the family didn’t talk back (yet) but ignored Tony’s lapses and just grumbled. Tony could work with that too. But Peter? 

Tony hammered faster and the sparks sprayed into the cold air. How was he supposed to know what went on in the omega’s head! He had not been good at reading other peoples’ intentions before his captivity in the hands of terrorists but after that it had gone worse. Tech was so easy. People were hard. What was going on in someone’s head when they were not speaking up! And Peter was trained to please, to obey, to ‘entertain’! How was Tony supposed to expect him to speak up on his own behalf?!

Steam rose with an angry hiss when Tony cooled the workpiece in a basin while he thought about what to do. Maybe he could order Friday to take care of Peter. That was why he builds her in the first place: to take care of his problems. She was there to be handed things since Pepper wasn’t doing this anymore and to talk to people he did not like to. Like the cook. The postman. Tailors. Delivery staff. In fact, everybody except the mentioned members of his chosen family. He was not supposed to be dealing with this shit!

The workpiece had cooled down and the metal surface shone in the light of the forge. A mask, that seemed to smile at him. It reminded him of Friday’s emotionless face. 

No, that would not do. She was a sweetheart, but lacked in some emotional and decision-making departments. Taking care of somebody meant that she received precise instructions and carried them out at the exact time she was told to – like bringing Tony a sandwich every six hours, unless he had eaten otherwise, or was sleeping, or having another human being with him at the estimated delivery time. It had taken a long time to frame the sandwich-order in such a precise way and a lot of errors had happened on the way. He would never forget how he and Pepper were … well… entertaining themselves in the sleeping room, when out of the shadow next to the bed Friday had appeared, a platter of salmon-sandwich in hand. He could still hear Peppers screams.

Tony rubbed his eyes before he started to reheat the metal. He did not want to have to pluck Peter from the wall because Friday had scared him during a similar accident. He needed to solve the problem himself. Talk to the boy. Find out what was going on with him. However hard that would be. Telling him that there was no need to ‘entertain’ him and such. 

This brought his thoughts back to the school and the so called education. He pressed his lips together when he put the face piece back on the anvil. Tony hammered even faster this time, the loud KLANG KLANG KLANG droning out his wish to burn the dammed school down. Sewing, and cleaning and ‘entertaining’? Who had decided that omegas should be educated as house-and-bed-slaves?! He always had had a bad feeling about the whole deal since he learned that the omega he bought would be fully and completely dependent on him. Peter had had no choice if he wanted to come with Tony and after the alpha had signed the contract he held Peter’s civil rights in his hand.

Tony stopped. He had Peter’s civil rights in his hand? No, not just his rights. 

His whole life. 

To be honest, if an alpha abused and even killed his omega – nobody would ask a question, Tony was sure of that. Maybe, when the alpha was about to buy the fifth or sixth poor sod. But even then… He was sure that in an alpha lead society only the most extreme criminals would be pursued. How many omegas had met that fate already?

The piece of metal forgotten on his anvil he stared into nothingness. 

Peter was his problem. Nothing ever had been SO MUCH his problem before. He could not turn away and try to hide from it. It was his responsibility. With a ZWOSCH he cooled the mask for a final time and put it aside.

Tony’s jaw was set when he walked back into the mansion, determined to turn the situation around.

Just when he stomped through the completely dark ground floor, wondering why all lights were off and everything quiet, he noticed that it was four o’clock in the morning. 

He decided to put his righteous venture off until the next day and went to bed.  
  
***

Tony woke surprisingly early the next morning, filled with determination to do things right. He got up and dressed in no time, arriving downstairs like a decent human being. Friday awaited him in the small but cozy furnished room that he silently called Peppers salon.

“Good morning, Sir. I hope you rested well.”

“Yes, sweetheart, thank you. Is Peter already awake? Has he come down since yesterday?” he asked, grabbing a cup of tea from Friday’s hands. 

“No, Sir. Mr. Peter remained in his room. I was about to check on him this very second.” The estimated sandwich in the other hand, Friday was ready for duty.

Tony nodded. “You know what, I’ll join you. Best to get over with the awkward talk as soon as possible. And leave the cursed bread here, you don’t need that!” He waved his hand at Friday in a motion to start moving and followed her, after he had knocked back the rest of his tea.

Tony followed Friday up to the first level where the master bedroom, the guest chambers, and some spare rooms with no further purpose were located. To his surprise Friday led him to an almost invisible door, painted in the same color as the walls. Behind it, a small staircase lad into a dark and narrow corridor. These were the attic rooms. A sickening feeling made itself known inside Tony’s stomach. Inwardly he counted the days Peter had stayed with them already. 

They left rooms on the left and right behind that were supposed to be servant’s quarters when the house was run by people instead of machines. It was dark and cold up here. The central heating didn’t reach this floor and the lights were off, the only source of light a small window at the end of the hallway. 

Friday stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor. Tony looked at her, his expression clearly asking if she was in her right mind. Of course she was. He programmed it. He put his hand on the doorknob, bracing himself for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are writing fuel ;)


	5. Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very much thanks for Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing this chapter! <3

Peter jumped up from the bed when the door suddenly opened. He thought his heart was about to stop when he saw Mr. Stark standing in the frame. The man just stared at him, taking in the boy and the room at the same time. Peter gulped. He was stunned for a second, waiting for Mr. Stark to say anything.

Nothing came.

His mind however, helpfully supplied a reason for the alpha to come up here. Peter started to unbutton his shirt with trembling hands. He felt strange to do it but saw no other way.

He had expected to be called down again but maybe Mr. Stark doesn’t want him there again. If he just weren’t so hungry. He wasn’t able to thinks straight, let alone be as seductive and willing as it was expected. He glanced up from under his lashes to gauge the reaction of the man in front of him.

Mr. Stark watched him reaching the third button. His eyes went wide. Suddenly he jumped forward, grabbed Peter’s hands and startled him nearly to death. Peter’s shocked eyed expression was met with a similar one and for a second both of them stood there, in the sparse attic room, looking at each other without being able to say a word.

Without noticing Peter inhaled Mr. Stark’s scent. A fine combination of sandalwood and machine oil with some aspects he wasn’t able to decipher. Somehow the scent calmed him and gave him the impression that everything was going to be alright.

This, and the fact that he was not immediately thrown onto the bed, getting his clothes ripped off.

His shoulders relaxed a bit.

Mr. Stark took a step back, releasing Peter’s hands and awkwardly clearing his throat.

“That’s… that’s not why I’m here.”

Was he blushing? Peter wasn’t sure, since the light was gloomy in here and Mr. Stark was averting his face a bit, but yes, he seemed to be embarrassed. He felt himself become flushed too. Awkwardness spreads fast.

“So… uhm… why DID you come then?” he asked, buttoning up his shirt to have something to do with his hands.

“I…” Mr. Stark interrupted himself and looked around. “In fact I came up to tell you that your room is finished. The room you’re supposed to stay in. That wasn’t ready. Which is why you had to –temporarily – stay up here. Until we were able to… finish things. That is.” He paused, blinking.

Peter wasn’t sure if he got it right. Mr. Stark made a motion with his hand to the hallway.

“So… if you are ready to move… Let’s get on with it.”

Peter’s mouth was dry. He felt hope rise in his chest but he was hesitant to give it room. Again.

“I’m ready.” He said and waited for Mr. Stark to lead the way. But the alpha just looked at him, his shirt, looked around, looked at him again, obviously waiting for something.

“Where are your things?” His eyes narrowed on Peter’s left shoulder. Peter followed the look and discovered some tea stains there. His face heated up, remembering how they got there.

“Is this the same shirt you wore yesterday? And the day before?” Mr. Stark asked, his voice flat.

“I… I wasn’t able to clean it properly. I’m sorry, Sir.”

“You don’t have other clothes.” Mr. Stark stated. Peter nodded, not sure why it felt like a lapse, even if he wasn’t responsible for it.

Mr. Stark rubbed his eyes and sighed. Then he turned.

“Follow me.” He said. And Peter did.

 

***

Tony thanked every inventor he knew that Peter wasn’t able to see his face when the boy followed him down the stairs. He cringed inside. How could that have happened. Peter had spent his first two days in an attic, equipped lesser than a prison cell. Holy Curie! The worst part was, that Tony knew exactly how that had happened. He had not paid attention.

Pepper – Newton bless her – had ordered Friday to prepare things. But Pepper never had bothered to learn how precisely she had to word an order for Friday to understand. Especially after their little incident.

He could imagine how the things had unfolded: Friday running through options where to put Peter and how to care for him. Deciding, based on her experience, to put him as far away from Tony as possible. Into a servant’s room.

His basic needs had been seen to, since there was a bed, a chair and a washbasin. Humans were simple creatures in Friday’s understanding: They stand, the lay down and the sat. Ad washing and eating (every six hours, if no other rule interfered) and everything was fine.

Tony did not blame Pepper of course. A human servant would not have made this mistake or at least sought confirmation with his employer. Tony knew that Friday was not capable of that, but Pepper didn’t. It had been Tony’s job to take care of the situation.

But Tony had not cared. Or more precisely, he had not thought about it at all. No wonder the boy had been even more shy, timid, and ready to please him with each passing day. Trying to improve his living conditions it seemed.

They really needed to have a talk. Great. Something Tony was a natural disaster at.

They arrived in the second floor and Tony led Peter to the guest room he liked the best. He entered the room and turned around, spreading his arms.

“Ta-daa!”

Peter’s expression was careful but seemed positive. He looked around with wide eyes, stepping into the room slowly. The chamber was called the blue room since the white and sand colored interior was accented with light and middle blue decorations. A huge four-poster-bed with curtains to keep the cold out in winter, was accompanied by a seating area with plush chairs and a sofa next to a low table. Thick carpets kept the feet warm. Next to the armoire and the wardrobe was a second door, that Tony opened. Peter’s face showed wonder as he took in the in-room-bath with everything modern plumber-engineering could come up with. The windows of both rooms looked out to the golden brown garden and a tiny part of Tony’s barn.

“What do you say?” Tony asked, a bit anxious for no reason he could have pointed out.

Peter smiled at him.

“It’s beautiful Mr. Stark. Thank you!”

“Please. Call me Tony.”

 

***

After the move to the new room, Tony lead Peter downstairs and ordered Friday to bring a full breakfast. They sat down in the place Tony silently called Pepper’s salon, a nice place to sit and eat without the full grandeur of the dining hall. Even with the cozy atmosphere Peter sat ramrod straight, but despite that he seemed more relaxed than the other days. Tony busied himself with pouring tea – Friday always managed to spill – and searched for words while the kitchen was at work.

“So, Peter. I’m under the impression that I did not make clear what you have to expect from being with me. With us. Here.” Tony began, Peter’s undivided attention making him a bit nervous.

“I must apologize to you. I have not been very attentive. This whole thing…” he gestured between him and Peter “is as new for me as it is for you. Maybe even more…”

Peter was about to deflect but Tony interrupted him softly with a raised hand.

“Please, let me try to get that out.” He cleared his throat. “I understand that I’m responsible for your wellbeing. To provide and care for you. But I must admit that I’m not very good at such things. I can barely care for myself…” Peter’s face fell. Maybe he anticipated to be told to not expect much care and Tony hurried to reassure him.

“What I mean is, that I want you to be fine. But I need you to look out for yourself too. I just want to be clear that you are not confined to your room – to any room – but free to go where and do what you please.” Peter still regarded him silently.

“Do you know what I’m trying to tell you?” Tony asked, felling his hope dwindle.

Friday saved Peter from anything he could say, arriving with a huge tray full of food: croissants, bread rolls, a wide variety of sweet and hearty toppings, fruit and scrambled eggs with bacon. He could almost see Peter’s mouth water at the sight. Tony smiled. Maybe actions where better than words.

“Please, don’t hesitate. I bet the cook is more than happy to deliver something else than plain sandwiches.”

They started into the food and hungry silence spread around the table.

After he sated the first of his hunger, Tony turned to Friday, who waited with the patience of a metal bar next to the table.

“Friday, please take note that Peter Parker from now on is part of the family. I expect you to obey his orders and take care of him in every possible manner like you would for Pepper and me. Got it, Fri?”

The robot nodded. “Of course, Sir.” She turned to Peter. “I’m pleased to be of service, Sir. Please don’t hesitate to ask something of me.”

Peter watched her with big shining eyes, his mouth full of food, the raised fork forgotten in his hand. His eyes darted from Friday to Tony. He swallowed the content of his mouth with an audible gulp.

Tony winked at him as if to say ‘told you’ but said nothing and continued his meal as if he was not regarded by Peter like a he had grown a second head. If that did not deliver the message home Tony didn’t know what would.

 

***

After the breakfast Mr. Stark showed Peter around. He led him through the house, pointing out the different rooms and their purpose. He explained that Peter could in fact go and stay where he liked to, but that Pepper’s office was a sanctum and everybody who moved as much as a single piece of paper there was bound to a horrible death at her hands.  Peter started to learn that Mr. Stark tended to exaggerate things but he vowed to himself to avoid that room at all costs.

It had started to rain, so Mr. Stark showed his workspace from the library window, without leading Peter outside to have a look. He pointed out that he most likely was to be found there, tinkering with stuff. Peter immediately was curious about that place but remained silent and attentive. Maybe the alpha thought that such a place was not for omegas – a common opinion.

After they had seen everything on the ground level, Mr. Stark walked to the second floor. Most of the rooms there were empty and filled with furniture under white dust covers. At the end of the hallway a tiny freight elevator took place. Mr. Stark explained that it was for the cleaning bots, small robots which vacuum cleaned the floors and such. Apparently there were no other human servants than Mr. Happy and the cook.

Two guest rooms were located up here too, between Peter’s new room and the master bedroom. The later was the last chamber they visited and Peter regarded it with curious eyes. It was obviously a space for Mr. Stark and his wife, filled with their clothes and scents, supplies on the night stand and the armoire. It left a strange feeling inside himself, that he could not point out clearly.

“Mr. Stark?”

The man, on his way out, turned around.

“Hm?”

Peter swallowed. He needed to ask.

“Could you… uhm… tell me… I mean. How… When…” He turned bright red and looked down.

Mr. Stark interrupted him.

“You want to know when I will visit you?”

Peter nodded, clearly relieved that he did not had to say it.

Mr. Stark sighed.

“Like I told you… I’d like to get to know you. I will not… come to you at night without you knowing what’s going on. To be honest, this is a very awkward situation for me and I’m not looking forward to… What I’m going to say is…” he interrupted himself again and groaned.

“I will not assault you out of the open. We’ll have a talk about it beforehand. About what we’ll do. After we know each other better. And decide that we both want to give it a try. Okay?”

Peter nodded. He did not know what else to do. He followed Mr. Stark out the door where the man excused himself with the promise to be back for dinner. Peter watched him leave and wasn’t able to let go of the strange mixture of feelings tumbling inside him. Of course he felt relieved that he was not put to use immediately but was to settle in first. But somehow Mr. Stark seemed averse about taking him to bed at all. That belied everything he had learned about alphas. Why had he bought him in the first place if he did not want to breed him? Peter could not answer that but somehow it wasn’t a feeling he liked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! And keep in mind, comments motivate the writer ;D


	6. Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing, what would I do without ya?

“Mr. Parker?” Friday repeated. Peter looked up, surprised that she meant him. He had not been called by his last name for a very long time.

“Y… yes?” he asked, standing up out of habit. In front of a robot. Nice move Peter.

“Mr. Stark ordered me to provide you with new clothes. I called for the tailor to come in this afternoon. Until then you are to choose other supplies you may need. She turned around and glided away. Peter followed her, stunned.

The day flew by in a daze. Friday helped him decide on ordering a bunch of things he might need. His closet and bathroom soon filled with supplies Friday discovered within the house. Fluffy towels, washcloths, a silken bathrobe, slippers and countless other things appeared before Peter’s eyes and made his head spin. They made a list and Happy drove to the small town nearby to buy what the house did not have in stock.

That was nothing compared to the magic that happened after the tailor arrived. Mr. Stark must have had given Friday explicit instructions because the man had already had some clothes with him, the estimated size surprisingly accurate. Suddenly Peter possessed a couple of new trousers, shirts, pullovers, and other things made from cotton, wool and silk. The tailor took his measurements and promised to deliver suits and other clothes for the cold season within the week. Peter would have protested, but the tailor closed the deal with Friday who seemed to be able to spend Mr. Starks money the way she saw fit (or was instructed to). Peter’s stomach clenched at the thought what Mrs. Stark would say when he saw the horrendous bill but it could not be helped. What’s done was done. All he could do was put away the ton of new things in his new room and feel like he was still dreaming.

 

***

Like promised, Tony met Peter again for dinner. As in the morning he had the table set up in the small salon, enough space for the two of them to get to know each other.

Peter seemed to be glowing, his eyes shone like stars while the excitement flowed off him in waves. He thanked Tony profusely for his new room, his new clothes, all the things that were in Tony’s books the barest necessities. But he did not want to stop the boy, anxious that if he did, Peter would stop talking at all. So he smiled at him as best as he could, trying to fight back the urge to burn the damned school down. Then they sat down and Friday brought the first course.

Peter’s table manners were something that had obviously been part of his education. He held his cutlery very gracefully, sat always straight and ate only tiny bits of the excellent food Friday served from the kitchen. He often smiled at Tony and regarded him with those big brown eyes of his in a way that made Tony feel very good. In a strange alpha-ish way.

And Peter was obviously very good at listening.

Tony recognized that only after they went on for dessert because it was so easy to talk to Peter. He was attentive in an unobtrusive way and he asked questions. Not in particular but in a way that made Tony go on and on and on. The boy was just so interested in everything Tony had to say. Just after Tony had told Peter about the schools he had gone to, the start in his father’s footsteps within the company, his and Pepper’s change of the company’s direction and all that, he noticed that time flew by and he had learned nothing about the omega.

Tony blinked. He had never talked to someone like that. Someone who seemed to find everything interesting he said, someone who absorbed every single word with a facial expression that showed nothing else as awe and fascination.

Somehow a bad feeling crept up his spine, now that he thought more closely about it. The way Peter asked and listened… it seemed… trained. As if he had learned how to lead another person into talking about almost everything. Tony asked himself if that too was one of the ‘entertaining’ qualities the omega had had to learn in the school of his.

Tony decided to not mention it, worried he would offend Peter. The boy was obviously doing his best. And maybe he _was_ just attentive and interested.

“What about you?” Tony put the napkin on the empty dessert-plate of his. Time to change gears. “I talked your ear of long enough about my life and stuff. What is there to say about you?”

Peter watched him for a moment, clearly at a loss what to make of that. Then he looked down on his plate, timid.

“What is there to say about me. I’m an omega.” He answered with a quiet voice.

“You’re more than that, Peter. People are more than their reproductive organs.”

Peter’s head shot up, his eyes wide as if he could not believe that Tony had said such a thing. He pressed his lips together.

“That is a very unique way of thinking, Mr. Stark.”

“I’m a unique man.”

Peter smiled at him and a soft blush spread over his cheeks. He nodded.

A sweet moment spread between them, the only sound the rain outside and the low fizzling of the candles Friday had put on the table for atmosphere.

“But nevertheless,” Tony continued. “I want to know more about you. About what you like and what not. What… you’d do if you’d not been in that school…” He leaned back, one arm draped over the backrest of his chair.

Peter crooked his head a little while he thought about that. He licked his lips.

“I don’t know what would have been if I weren’t an omega. Because I am. And all omegas are educated in special schools.” Tony’s heart sank but then Peter continued.

“However… I’d like to find out. If that’s possible. Uhm… What I like and what I’m good at. Aside from the things that were expected from me.” He regarded Tony with a curious look. The alpha smiled warmly at him.

“Sounds good.”

They sat together in silence, listening to the quiet. The rain was a pleasant murmur in the dark.

“How about we start with reading. And writing. If you’re able to read, you could find more things you are interested in.” Peter’s eyes started to glow again. He leaned forward eagerly.

“Really?! I mean… do you think so, Sir?”

“Yes, of course! Reading is the gate to the world of knowledge! I could teach you. If you’d like that.” Peter’s smile was bright like the rising sun.

“I’d love to.”

 

***

Peter went to bed with Mr. Stark. Or more precisely the took the stairs together and said good night at their top, Peter going to the right, Mr. Stark to the left, each of them to their respective bedrooms.

After he had crept under the covers Peter lay awake, looking into the dark room. Even if there wasn’t much light he was not frightened because even in the dark the room had a cozy and safe atmosphere. Under the fluffy covers, his head on a soft pillow he felt… at home.

He smiled at the memory of Mr. Stark’s promise to teach him how to read. To help him finding out what else he was capable of. He felt like the luckiest omega in the world.

He would meet Mr. Stark in the morning to have the first lesson right after breakfast. Maybe – if he did well – maybe Mr. Stark would smile at him again. That thought made a warm tingle spread in his belly. A soft smile graced his lips as sleep took Peter away.

 

***

The morning came with wet and musky air and fog, thick as cotton. Peter woke early, as he had been used to in school. His nerves glowed with anticipation when he used the luxury bathroom, the fluffy towels a novelty extraordinaire. After that, he dressed himself in his new clothes. His hands caressed the fine fabric and he smiled to himself when he regarded himself in the mirror. The clothes were nothing special, just dark trousers, a shirt, underwear. Nothing an alpha would dress his omega in, if he wanted some eye candy. But somehow this was the best part! Mr. Stark seemed to see him as a person, not a property. Peter rushed downstairs, his heart fluttering fast like a little bird in his chest.

Mr. Stark took his time emerging from his bedroom. We seemed grumpy and ruffled, with bed-hair and his eyes still heavy with sleep. And he had forgotten the promise to teach Peter how to read. Peter’s heart sank.

Mr. Stark took note of that and made it up to him by telling him that he was bound to forget everything and thus had lived with a personal assistant since he was a late teenager. He seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by Peters enthusiasm but pleased at the same time. He even ruffled Peters hair when they went into the salon together. Peter’s breath hitched at that, but in a good way.

After a light breakfast, Mr. Stark led Peter to the library, arguing that there was the best light and a bureau with the needed supplies. He introduced Peter to the alphabet and Peter tried to follow his lead. But Mr. Stark was no fool. He noticed very fast that Peter in fact wasn’t illiterate. Anxious, he admitted that he had not been completely honest when he had said that he could not read. His aunt May had thought him, before he had been taken to the school. Of course he wasn’t very good at it, since it had been forbidden in the school but he knew the letters and could work out their meaning. He didn’t say it but Mr. Stark’s lifted eyebrow told him that he knew why Peter had not come up with his knowledge right from the start: If he had been engaged to an alpha who wasn’t fond of his omega reading and writing he would have to hide his knowledge, like he did the last six years.

Mr. Stark praised him for his proficiency and Peter glowed with happiness. Reluctantly, he confessed that he had been practicing in secret. In fact, he had read everything that he could get a grip on without being caught. He had practiced with the badges at the walls, the signs at the teacher’s offices and with scraps of newspapers he snapped out of their wastepaper basket. Somehow he had known that the written word was a source of power and the fact that it was denied for omegas upset him. Mr. Stark somehow seemed to be proud.

While he managed to maintain his basic reading skills, he couldn’t train his writing however and thus was clumsy with it at first. Tony watched him closely and helped with the first steps. He sat next to Peter and helped him to adjust his fingers around the pen, draw the first letters with him even. He was so close, his scent surrounding Peter like a warm blanket. Peter could feel the warmth radiation from Mr. Stark’s body into his. He inhaled the man’s scent while he tried not to be too obvious about it, his heart beating like a drum, so loud he feared the alpha might hear it from this close. Mr. Stark just smelled so good. If he had been allowed, he would have pressed his face into the man’s neck to inhale deeply but of course he did contain his impulses. He would not make the mistake again to make an undesired approach.

Because of his skillful hands he was soon able to grip the pen in a god way. It was not much difference to knitting and crocheting. The copying of the letters was hard for Peter however. After time, he became tired and Mr. Stark chose a book for him to practice his reading skills. It was a novel with short sentences and easy word choices but from time to time Peter needed help with a complex word or a strange pronunciation. Most of the time they sat together in silence, Peter following the words with his finger while Tony did some calculations on his actual project. It was a peaceful and nice atmosphere and Peter felt himself smile to himself.

Suddenly Mr. Stark looked up, taking a deep breath. Peter watched him, startled, when the man all of a sudden rose from his stool. He gripped his papers and turned as if he wanted to leave. Then he noticed Peter. The boy blinked. Had Mr. Stark forgotten that he was here with him at all?

“I…” Mr. Stark paused, his papers in hand, watching Peter as if he was a problem to be solved.

“Care to take this lesson into the workshop? I really need to test this idea. And there’s a table. Where you could sit at. To work that is, or…”

“No! I mean Yes!” Peter jumped from the stool, his words falling over another in his haste to agree. He had been curious about that place since he had been brought here! “I would love to… uh… I mean… we can go wherever you want, Sir!”

Mr. Stark watched him stunned but then blinked and lead him to the door.

***

Peter followed Tony to the barn. At the very moment they entered the workshop the boy’s eyes grew impossible huge. He looked around like a kid at Christmas. Tony was surprised at first, but he knew that look very well. A tech nerd in a tech place. He felt himself smile.

‘Who would have expected that from puppy-eyes?’ he thought to himself, astonished. He regarded Peter carefully while the omega wandered deeper into the barn, for once not submissive and alert to Tony’s every move but just full of wonder and excitement. Tony even forgot his calculations, he was so caught in the sight of a marveling Peter.

The boy turned to him and for the first time he thought how pretty Peter was like this: His eyes shining, his cheeks flushed and his smile so broad and open. The shyness returned however, the very moment he saw Tony watching him but there still was a vibrancy of open excitement around him.

And then he met the robots.

Tony had never seen a person react to his bots like this. Peter cooed at Dum-E as if he was a little puppy – very quietly but audible for Tony. Most people ignored them. Bruce found them funny but didn’t interact often with them. When Dum-E rolled near and beeped, raising his one arm in a greeting, Peter was so excited as if somebody had handed him an extremely cute pup. Butterfingers, drawn from the sounds his little brother was making, came around. Peter almost burst of joy. He carefully touched Butterfingers and squeaked with joy when the robot shook his hand.

“I’ve never seen someone reacting like that when they met them.” Tony grinned. Peter turned his head to him but continued to shake butterfingers hand. “Really? They are awesome! Where did you get them?!”

“I build them.”

Peter stopped dead. He turned to Tony and a couple steps closer in one motion, his eyes huge like saucers.

“Really?! You did?! That’s awesome!” His voice squeaked again. Tony had the impression that the boy was a second away from grabbing his hands to make sure he was not dreaming. “Did you build Friday too?! That’s so crazy! I’ve never thought that’s possible!” His eyes grew even bigger “I… I mean… not that I doubt you… uhm… I’m sorry… but that’s just so AWESOME!” he blushed furiously and Tony couldn’t contain himself any longer. He threw his head back and laughed like he hadn’t for years. Peter blushed even harder but smiled despite his embarrassment.

 

***

The rest of the day was spent in collaborative silence. Tony tried to put his ideas into practice, from time to time watching Peter who watched the bots with unwavering excitement when he made a pause at reading. It let a warm glow appear in Tony’s chest.

Somebody liked his babies.

Who would have thought that that someone would be an omega?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: Comments keep writers motivated - let me know what you think ;D


	7. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing this chapter <3

The next day started foggy, the light shone gloomily through the grey wafting. Even the bright red and golden leaves outside of Peter’s window appeared vague and dream like. That couldn’t however affect his mood, since he had the feeling that he and Mr. Stark made huge progress. He smiled to himself, when he walked down the stairs.

In fact, Peter was the opinion of that he could not have gotten a better deal than this. Mr. Stark was not only treating him well, but supporting him. Patiently he had helped Peter with his studies, after he learned about the skills he already had. Peter could not believe how lucky he was to be with an alpha who granted him the right to read and write. And according to Mr. Stark that was just the beginning.

‘Find out what you want to do’. These had been his words. Peter was curious where this path would lead him.

He arrived in the small salon Mr. Stark used for his meals. There was no sight of anybody. Even Friday seemed to be elsewhere this early in the morning. Peter looked around, considering what to do. In the school, everyday had been planned and sorted. The students had to get up at six, washing themselves with cold water to get properly awake. After that, the first chores of the day had awaited them.

An omega was supposed to be diligent and humble. Preparing breakfast for students and teachers, cleaning the dormitories and bathrooms, airing the studies – all these chores had to be done before the first meal. And it had been only the opening of a long day full of work. ‘Idleness is the root of all evil’ had been a common dictum, there had even been an embroidery with these words above the door to the common room. Every omega knew that they had to make themselves useful and to obey commands.

In Tony’s house there were no commands – or at least not until now. On top of that Peter had no duties. He was supposed to learn reading and writing and somewhere along the way he hopefully would become pregnant and then care for the kids. But until then…

Peter tapped his toes and looked around. The room was clean and tidy, not much to do here. Maybe he could ask Mr. Stark later.

‘Call me Tony’. The sentence swept through Peter’s head from time to time, giving him a warm feeling. He would not do it of course. Maybe, if Mr. Stark insisted. But it wasn’t just that Peter had been educated to address alphas and betas formally and politely, on top of that Mr. Stark was a person who commanded respect. He was not only alpha but rich and famous – even Peter had heard about Stark Industries. But at the same time he seemed kind. Peter’s hand stroked over the fine wool of his new trousers.

Peter did not mind that Mr. Stark was several years older than himself. Even if he had had a chance to decide whom he wanted to be with in the first place… he would have been glad to attract they eye of Mr. Stark. Peter bit his lip when a warm feeling spread in his body. A strange fluttering, as if a couple of butterfly’s decided to take a ballroom dance in his stomach. Why did he feel this way?

Caught in his thoughts he did almost miss Friday, who wheeled into the salon to set the table. She seemed to absorbed in her task so Peter decided to not offer some help. He knew that he was clumsy sometimes and he would not want to wake the house with smashing plates into pieces.

Mr. Stark would not be up for one hour at last so Peter decided to wait in the library. Maybe he could finish the book the man gave him yesterday. He felt the urgent need to impress with his skills and will to learn.

Maybe Mr. Stark would praise him again for it. Hopefully the Misses would come to like him as well. Peter chewed on his thump-nail. Or at least tolerate him. He should ask Friday for the estimated arrival time of Mrs. Stark, in order to keep to his room and avoid being a disturbance.

‘I need to stop that habit…’ he pondered when he looked at his ruined nail. Not very pretty.

 

***

Tony awoke and felt absolutely whacked. He stayed in bed for a couple of minutes, pondering if he really should get up or not. His body and mind were drained and exhausted and all he wanted was to lose himself in another round of sleep. But he knew that these wish was in vain. A certain knowledge knocked on the outer shell of his mind, reminding him that there was something he needed to deal with. The omega. Peter. Tony groaned. He needed to get up. Be a responsible human being.

It wasn’t that working with Peter wasn’t nice. The boy was a delight with his shy but friendly character. Even if it was exhausting, he liked working with him. The boy had a quick mind and seemed eager to learn, something that Tony had always found alluring in people. And he was hard working. It must be a strain to practice writing. Tony had seen his knuckles turn white because of the effort. But the boy had not faltered or complained, just continued to give his best. For hours. And smiled at the praise that Tony gave him afterwards.

So it wasn’t Peters fault in the first place that Tony felt drained but that didn’t change that Tony needed some space. He wasn’t used to closeness of another person for such a long time with the constant need to interact. Pepper and Rhodey knew about his tendency to shut others out in order to calm down. Each of them dealt with it, either in their own way. But Peter’s wellbeing was Tony’s responsibility and he had already fucked it up in the first couple of days. He needed to do better, even if his brain felt sore around the edges.

 

***

The day went by in activity. After Tony arrived downstairs, he had breakfast with Peter and talked to him about his reading. The boy had opened up a bit more and chatted animatedly about the novel Tony had selected for him. After he had noticed that Peter was into tech he had given him one of his own favorites from his youth about an engineer and his self-built robot – a thing that had inspired him to build Friday if he was honest. It was easy to talk to Peter about that and soon they discussed the multiple application possibilities for robots and what a designer needed to keep in mind.

After breakfast Peter followed him into his workshop to practice there. To Tony’s surprise however, Peter seemed way more interested in Tony’s work. He asked a couple of questions and Tony explained to him, what he was doing. It was nice because he never before had someone around that was genuinely interested in details of his work.

Nevertheless, halfway to noon Tony felt even more exhausted. Peters close proximity was pleasant but somehow chafing at the same time. Tony felt himself blink way more often than he was used to. The light seemed brighter to him than usual and the sounds more paramount. Peter seemed to note that something was off. He excused himself with a smile and went back to the table under the skylight to work on his notes in silence. Tony took a breath.

Somehow he managed to do his calculations for a time even while the boy was there with him. But he could not lose himself in his project completely and something constantly reminded him of Peters presence. It was like a slight itch that was not alleviated, no matter how much it was scratched. Tony caught himself watching him from time to time. By Newton, he was not able to concentrate!

Peter seemed to be absorbed, copying the letters from a sheet of paper. The tip of his tongue pressed to the corner of his mouth. He gripped the pen way to harsh and pressed it with too much force onto the paper. Tony could hear the scratching as if Peter drew the letters in his very ear canal. He sighed and went over.

“You hold on too much. Here…” He gripped Peter’s hand and adjusted his fingers a bit.

He bent over Peters shoulder in order to help him getting it right. Somehow his other hand suddenly rested on Peter’s back. Tony became aware of the boy’s warm skin under the clothing, his breath, his pulse even. He had the feeling that he could hear Peters heart drumming in the his chest. This particular sweet scent filled his nose, his mind, his whole being. And then Peter looked up to him, liking his dry lips, regarding him with his deep brown eyes…

Tony jumped backwards as if burned. He stared at Peter with wide eyes, horrified. How had it come to this?! He almost…

Tony stuttered an excuse and fled the workshop.

 

***

Peter stepped out of the barn and looked up to the house. He felt… strange. He had waited for Mr. Stark to return but somehow he had known that the hope was in vain.

Mr. Stark had seemed tense the whole morning and now he had fled as if Peter had somehow offended him. Hopefully he wasn’t angry at him. Peter could kick himself. Of course Mr. Stark was busy and not available for his childish curiosity and questions. Peter looked down, embarrassed. Again he had made a mistake, but he wasn’t even sure what it was.

Suddenly he felt too anxious to get back inside the house. But without Mr. Stark he didn’t want to stay in the barn either. He looked up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. He could see the large window of the master bedroom and for a second he asked himself if Mr. Stark was watching him from there. But why should he.

Peter fidgeted a second and then decided that he would take a walk to calm his strung up nerves.

 

***

Tony watched Peter leave the barn. The boy seemed indecisive, but then turned and walked away from the house. Tony was not able to deal with it. A turmoil of strange feelings he wasn’t used to, on top of the social stress was enough to give him a serious headache. And more than that. His breath was a ragged panting and cold sweat run down his temple. He needed time to cool down. To move on, to push aside such strange hormone-induced feelings for a person he barely knew! Tony slammed the door of his bathroom shut and leaned against it. His skin felt odd, his heartbeat was labored. A panic attack! He hadn’t had those for years. But now he closed his eyes and felt as if he was drowning. His heart hammered in his chest.

Splashing cold water to his face he desperately tried to get himself under control. He could not loose himself to the feelings and instincts! That was not going to happen. He had lost control over his life once. In the cave, being in the hand of terrorists and at their mercy!

He felt a cold shiver creeping up his spine, grabbing his heart and squeezing it violently. Tony gagged. He was not going to let that happen again! He needed to maintain command over his body!

After he was sure, that Peter was gone, Tony reluctantly returned to his workshop. He felt nowhere as safe as there. That made it even more bad that the incident had taken place here. He locked the door behind himself, opening the skylights instead in order to air the room. No more traces of the omega!

Dum-E rolled up to him and beeped, waving his claw.

“Ah, shut up. He’s not coming back in here. That is no place for an omega furthermore.” He snapped at the machine which let the claw drop. Tony strolled into the barn, shoving every thought about Peter out of his mind. He had work to do. The energy generator wasn’t finished or at least not ready to go into production. He had to work on important things. Tony clenched his fist.

He was a man of intellect, not emotion and especially… _instincts_! Oh how he always had hated this nonsense: ‘Alphas will be alphas’, ‘it’s in their nature’. He had never believed that. Humans were able to decide their fate and their actions! He was no animal!

And he would prove it, at least to himself!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are writing fuel ;o)


	8. Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing the chapter!

Peter wandered over the lawn. He had thought about returning to the library or his room but had decided against it. The thought alone to be back in the house, had made him feel restless and somehow caged. Maybe because he was used to work the whole day. Even if the labor had ben strenuous, it kept the mind from wandering around, and in the evening the body was tired and happy to rest. In Mr. Stark’s care he had nothing to do, no duties to attend, no chores to complete. Maybe the restlessness had been responsible for his behavior in the workshop when he had been supposed to be still and not disrupting.

Now that he took long strides in the fresh air he noticed that his body had way too much excessive energy. Suddenly Peter needed to move or he would go crazy. So he decided to take a longer way round. Mr. Stark had told him to roam the estate freely, that he was not confined to his room or the house at all. He looked over his shoulder, back to the white mansion. Nobody was to be seen. He bit his lip, uncertain about what to do. He had no jacket but the sun warmed him enough to be comfortable.

He wandered to the pond. It was more of a lake, large enough to have a boat ride on it in summer. Colorful leaves decorated the dark surface like tiny sails. It was shortly after noon but the sun was only halfway up the sky. Her glow fell through the trees, painting a wickerwork of lights and shadows on the ground. Peter inhaled deeply and decided to walk around the lake to further clear his mind.

Mr. Stark and his strange behavior was a constant thought in his head. After he had helped him the man had been pale and his dark eyes huge in the skylight of the barn. As if he was terrified. But why? Peter couldn’t make sense of what had happened.

On the opposite side of the lake from the house,  the trees reached up to the waterfront. A storm had snapped of some of the smaller trunks and they build an impenetrable thicket. Peter looked over his shoulder and considered walking back, but he still felt full of unused energy and thus decided to hike into the grove next to the lake. He would walk around the end of the thicket and return to the shore to walk back to the mansion.

His steps rustled on the soft carpet of golden-brown leaves. The sun filtered through the birch trunks. They stood close to each other, so Peter needed to change his path often to find his way between them. He never had a walk in a wood before and had underestimated the disorder of nature. Stepping carefully to avoid tripping into holes he was focused on his feet and slowly, without noticing, lost track of his destination.

 

***

 

After some time, the omega straightened his back and looked up. The sun was on the way to the horizon and he still walked through the seemingly tiny grove. He swiped sweat from his forehead and looked around. Slowly a cold sense of dread started to creep up his spine. Everything looked the same! With the thick layer of foliage covering the ground he was not able to see where he had come from. Was he even still on Mr. Starks property? Peter’s eyes darted around but there was nothing that seemed familiar. He took a couple of steps into a direction that was as good as the other. Maybe he should shout?

Somewhere a branch cracked. Peter whirled around. His eyes searched the dusky shadows between the trunks. It seemed to get darker every second. Every story he had been told about a lonely omega who was found by an alpha in the wild hummed through his head. His heart beat so loud that he could not hear a thing. He darted around again. Where to go?

Panic overwhelmed him and he ran. Dry leaves sprayed on both sides of his stomping feet. The only sound was his fast breathing and the rabid beating of his heart. If somebody was behind him, Peter would not notice until they grabbed him. He ran, hoping desperately that he would not trip or break his ankle.

There, the wood was lighter! Peter stormed in the direction, jumped over a fallen tree and onto a forest path.

Someone cried out.

 

***

 

Peter, breathing heavily, came to a halt in front of a young woman. She obviously was only seconds away from a heart attack, had the omega appeared out of the woods with no further warning than his haste steps. She regarded him with huge eyes, an enormous basked clutched in her hands. Panting, Peter looked around. She was alone. Nobody was after him. He had imagined the pursuer, didn’t he?

Relieve flooded his body like a wave of bubbling water. He rested his hands on his tights and bowed low to regain his breath. The bubbly feeling grew stronger. He chuckled to himself. He had scared himself shitless while he had been completely alone! Peter started to giggle, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.

The girl watched him and relaxed slowly. She tilted her head.

“Was that supposed to be funny, Sir?” she asked with a clipped voice and adjusted the heavy burden in her hands.

Peter’s head snapped up.

“No!” he raised his hands. “No, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. In fact, I’m super relieved to see you. I got lost in the wood and worried I would never find my way back and…”

She looked from Peter to the trees behind him and back to Peter. Her eyebrow lifted.

“You got lost… in Mr. Stark’s garden?

Peter felt his cheeks heating up.

“Uhm… yes. I’m new. And Peter. Ah… I mean. My name is Peter. Parker.” He stumbled over the words and the woman smiled at him. She seemed only a couple of years older than him, a bit taller too. Her hair was hidden under a bonnet and her dress seemed practical and from durable fabric. She gripped the handle of the basket and grimaced at the weight. Peter rushed forward.

“Please, let me help you.”

But she didn’t let go of the handle and regarded him with more than a hint of mistrust.

“You’re new? What do you mean? Where do you live? I don’t know you?”

“I stay with Mr. Stark. In the mansion. Since… uh…” He looked around. “Wherever that may be.”

“You really _got_ lost, did you?” she laughed “Come with me then. I’m on my way to the Stark mansion anyway, delivering goods from the village. You can help me and I’ll show you where to go.”

Peter smiled at her in utter relief and nodded thankfully.

“My name’s Mary by the way. I life in Greenbush. That’s one and a half miles down the road.” Finally, she let Peter carry the basket, which was full of harvest. Pumpkins, apples and cabbage, next to other food like dry and cold meats. He observed the goods with curious eyes.

“These are for the kitchens in the mansion. My parents grew the apples in their garden. Just the best for Mr. Stark.” She explained and Peter nodded, clueless. They walked side by side along the path.

“Do you often come up here, Mary?”

“Oh, once a week. Sometimes Pops brings more and thus uses the cart. But usually it’s just me.” She watched him closely. “You are no servant, aren’t you?” 

Peter felt his cheeks heating up but he did not answer, pretending to be focused on his steps with the heavy cargo and all. Mary continued undisturbed.

“Mr. Stark does not like servants. So I’ve been told. He has made robots to do all his work for him. Only the cook and the driver remained.” She looked at him, her eyes shining.

“That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?”

Peter grinned at her.

“Yeah!”

It seemed that he had found a friend.

 

***

 

Peter and Mary chatted animatedly while they walked side by side. It didn’t take long until they saw at the mansion appear between the threes. Peter had obviously managed to walk in circles and thus had thought the grove much bigger than it really was. He had gone lost only a furlong away from the house.

“I’m not used to the outdoor nature” he admitted to Mary. “I grew up in the city.” He left out that he had lived in a school for the last six years, hence he hadn’t learned to find his way through a forest there either. He decided to change the topic.

“How about you? You’re born and bred in Greenbush?” he asked, smiling. She tilted her head.

“No, how come you assume that?” She looked at him curious and Peter felt his face heating up. “Of course I’m born in a shelter in New York. Pops and Dad were lucky and thus able to obtain a license for raising a child. They’re betas but they have a large orchard and are able to feed a kid.” She paused. “I don’t recall the city though. Pops picked me up and brought me here shortly after I was weaned.”

Peter’s smile stayed on his face, even if he felt a sting in his heart. An omega had birthed Mary but had not been in the position to keep her. This was the fate of omegas who were not educated in schools and given to a wealthy family – and that was the most of them. He had always known that he was lucky to be in the school with a chance to become engaged. And if Mr. Stark hadn’t chosen him, even this chance would have been lost. His departure to a shelter had been only a matter of time. He knew that. An omega without a wealthy alpha to provide for them was not able to feed a child and the descendants were given away to someone who could. Because of Mr. Stark, Peter not only had a home and everyday luxury. More importantly, the chance was high that he would be able to see his children grow up and he was thankful that his lot was better than of the most.

He looked the young beta walking next to him. She seemed happy and the way she spoke about her foster parents indicated a warm relationship. Peter wasn’t well informed about how beta’s could apply for a child and how they were chosen but maybe the fact that they had to go miles for it implied that they cared for the child in a good way.

He noticed that Mary watched him from the corner of her eye and forced the waning smile back on his face.

“I can’t wait to taste the apples your parents grew” he said to lighten the mood, but he could see that she did not buy it. Before she was able to answer however, they reached the backside of the mansion. Happy sat there next to the car, a newspaper in hand. When he saw the couple coming along the way he got up, his eyebrows rising.

“Where did you come from?” he asked Peter and the omega instantly had the urge to cow. His shoulders hunched and he felt Mary tighten beside him.

“I… ah… got lost on a walk around the pond and… then I met… uhm”

“Ms. Jones.” Mary helped him out. She took the basket from Peters arms and nodded at Happy in greeting. “Hello Mr. Hogan. I bring the delivery from Greenbush.”

Happy regarded Peter for a second longer which made Peter’s stomach grew tight, but then nodded at Mary.

“You know the way to the kitchen, Ms. Jones. The cook awaits you, I’m sure.” His eyes returned to Peter who cringed inside. He obviously had made a mistake, but like so often he wasn’t sure what it was. That seemed to be a constant occurrence in his new life.

“I’ll… uhm… return to my studies. Inside.” He pointed to the corner of the house where a path led to the patio of the library. Happy’s eyes stayed at him with the same intense look, him without saying a word. Peter stepped back, sweat breaking on his skin. The drivers face wasn’t possible to read. Peter reached the corner and because Happy wasn’t still saying anything he rounded it. He almost ran when he returned inside. There he tried to be silent in order to not disturb Mr. Stark when he hurried to his room and closed the door behind himself.

 

***

 

Mr. Stark did not come back for dinner.

Peter waited for him, sitting at the table in the small salon they used for their joint meals but the alpha stayed away. Peter could see the light in his barn which indicated that the man was still at work. He watched his own plate, filled with delicious smelling food, that he had not touched until now because he waited for that second seat to become occupied.

“Friday… uhm… don’t you think I should go and… I don’t know… ask Mr. Stark if he wants to come over for dinner?”

“Such behavior is unnecessary. Mr. Stark received a sandwich an hour ago. According to my data it is most unlikely that he will return until he has finished what he is working on.” Friday answered with her unemotional voice. “I advise you to use the fuel provided for your health and enjoyment.” She gestured at the plate in front of Peter where the food slowly became cold.

Peter felt more and more that somewhere along the day he had made a serious mistake but he could not decipher what it was and how he could rectify it. Had he been to nosy and curious in the workshop? Disturbed Mr. Stark’s work? Or was it because he had taken a walk? Mr. Hogan surely had informed Mr. Stark that Peter had got lost and on top of that, returned with a girl from the village. Panic rose in his chest. Had he felt too safe because of Mr. Stark’s kindness and the lessons and all that? Should he had been way more cautious and reserved? What was the right path?

Tears pricked in Peter’s eyes. What should he do? How could he ask Mr. Stark if he had made a mistake and how could he rectify it? In school he had learned ways to appease the alpha if he was angry with him, but he had already learned that what he had been told did not apply to Mr. Stark. Desperation rushed back inside him like a dark wave. He needed to undo the lapse as soon as possible!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Let me know :D


	9. Weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Aoife Laufeyson was amazingly fast with beta-ing this time you get a second chapter at the weekend. More Pepper this time - don't like, don't read ;)

The sun had long ago set when Happy drove the car into the driveway. Pepper regarded the mansion, the dark windows and the tranquil atmosphere with mixed feelings. She had tried to interrogate Happy on their way from the train station to the house about the events during the week, but the driver had not been a source of broad information.

‘Everything is in order. No occurrences.’ was his answer on her inquiry how the situation with Tony and Peter had developed. It was no wonder however, Happy’s perspective on life often was a simple one, not much to discuss or dig in.

Pepper drummed her fingers on her knee. She shot them an accusing look when she noticed and stopped it. She had told Tony that it was no problem, that she would not be jealous, that she was sure about him, about them, their relationship.

But every beta was educated that alphas and omegas were different, connected via a sensual experience that she as a beta would never understand. That they could form a bond, strong enough to sire children. That betas were useful, yes, but never could be a part of such a special relationship. And even if she knew that Tony loved her, married her, yes even gave his legacy and company into her hands because he trusted her – even though she knew all that, she could not shake the cold shiver that ran down her spine the nearer she came the mansion.

What if…

Thus she had decided to take the last train on Friday instead the first on Saturday like she often did. Her heart had told her to come even earlier but it had not been possible. Ross and his riot against Tony must be deflected and she had done a lot of networking to let the information about Peter’s purchase spread, together with strategic developments in the corporations leading structure. Under Pepper’s hands competent betas over the years had been promoted into better positions to change the working culture within Stark Industries. Those betas would be a helpful spine if Ross tried to expropriate Tony. He could not do it without the backup of the high ranked employees. And the betas supported Pepper’s – through that Tony’s – new course.

She sighed as the car came to a halt in front of the main entrance. She had enough in her hair without racking her brain about her husband’s new lover. And if she was honest with herself, it was as likely as not that Tony had ignored Peter the whole time, buried in his workshop in order to avoid a topic he did not want to get to close with. She knew his reservations and had made arrangements in New York if the situation would get out of hand.

Happy opened the door for her. Pepper straightening her shoulders und left the car, calm and controlled on the outside. She was beta, after all!

 

***

 

Pepper stepped in the bedroom, trying to be as silent as possible, to not wake Tony. She didn’t want to, but couldn’t help herself: A quick glance made sure that there had been no guest in this room. If Tony and Peter gotten to know each other more intimately, it had not happened in their marital bed.

Which was empty.

Pepper, her hands on her blouse in order to unbutton it, stilled. The bed was not touched. She pressed her lips together and a second later rolled her eyes at herself. She had known that if she ever would love an alpha, she wouldn’t be in all probability exclusive.

Before they became a thing she had been Tony Stark’s assistant and during that period she had had plenty of chances to watch him flirt and even more. In the good old times Tony had had his fill of lovers, oh yes. But these had been fleeting, mostly one-nighters. It had been a way to demonstrate his alpha-ness to his overcritical father. Pepper was one of a few who knew that he never had particularly _liked_ people.

And since their marriage Pepper had been sure that she was the only one. It was a relieve for Tony to not have to constantly flirt anymore. After he retired to the mansion he had cut his relationships to a minimum. But even then… Pepper had known that the need for a child could arise. And thus, that it would come to this eventually – to a _ménage a trois_ like the poet would say.

Even if the impulse was strong to go and have a look at Tony’s whereabouts, she would not do it. At least because she had no desire to find him engaged with his new toy.

‘Don’t think about him like that. That’s not very nice, you know?’ she scolded herself and shook her head. The omega hardly had had a choice in whom he was purchased by and she should hope that he and Tony got along. Better that than live with two people who hated each other.

Pepper undressed and crept under the covers. They still smelled like Tony. Pepper blocked out every thought about alphas and omegas and closed her eyes.

 

***

 

On the next morning, Peter sat in his room and waited, his rapidly beating heart the only sound in the room. His ears perked at every noise in the hallway of the second floor. It was only a matter of time until he would meet the misses, he was sure.

As usual during the last week he had been the first to get up in the morning – except Friday of course – and his mind had been set on waiting for Mr. Stark to apologize. He even had been determined to do whatever it took to get back into good graces with the alpha. But then he had learned that the misses came back last night.

In panic Peter had wolfed down his breakfast and rushed back to his room. The prospect of what could have happened when she had found him on her table made him feel sick with anxiety. He had decided to hide in his room to be out of sight, but now he sat there, his nerves strung up to a breaking point, listening to very sound in the hallway.

After about two hours full of anxious waiting he finally heard her footsteps. Nobody else wore heels in this house. Peter’s heart hammered in his chest until he listened to her descending into the ground area. A part of him feared that she would be back soon, this time marching to his door. If it had been her who had put him into the attic she would not be happy to learn that Mr. Stark had given him this new room, and the expensive clothes and all that.

He knew nothing about her. Was she agreeable that Peter had lessons in reading and writing? That he had no chores except doing what he liked? That he was there at all?

Mrs. Stark seemed to be an important woman, since she was working in the city. Or was this because her relationship with Mr. Stark wasn’t working out well? Would she ignore Peter or would she use him in a way she saw fit?

Peter wasn’t able to concentrate or do anything else but sit and wait until the misses decided that she wanted to deal with him. Hopefully this would be with Mr. Stark around. An alpha was supposed to care for the omega and protect them. Would Mr. Stark do that?

Peter had bitten down two nails until he decided that he could not sit there and ruin his fingers until Mrs. Stark decided to meet with him. He needed to take the edge of off his anxiety and the best way to do that was working. His jaw was set when he went into his bathroom with the determination not to rest until he could see his reflection in every single surface.

 

***

 

Pepper learned from Friday that the omega had already had his breakfast. She was surprised, but maybe the boy simply was an early bird. Tony obviously hadn’t returned yet. Friday confirmed that in fact he had spent the night in his workshop.

Pepper took a deep breath, her own discomfort utterly relieved. So Tony had not slept in the omega’s room. At least last night. In the light of the day it seemed silly that she had even considered it but when she had woken in the morning and the bed beside her had been still untouched – maybe there had been a tear or two. But what of it?

After breakfast, Pepper went to her office since she had enough to do without pondering on things that may or not be. She brought important documents she needed to go through until noon and maybe until then the events would enfold themselves. She took a seat on her desk and opened the first folder.

Time went by while she worked.

Somewhere along the way Friday brought her a serving of tea.

It became noon.

Nothing in the house made a sound except a small vacuum bot on duty.

Pepper put the pen down and looked up. Her red hair, drawn back in a functional ponytail swept over her shoulder.

Her brow furrowed.

Nothing. For hours.

Even for Tony it was strange that he stayed so long in his workshop. Especially when Pepper was home. And the omega hadn’t made a sound either. No footsteps on the stairs, nothing. It felt like living in a ghost house.

Pepper shot up, her eyes wide. Was he even here? Had something serious happened?!

But Happy had said there had been no occurrences? ‘What _is_ an occurrence for him?’ she asked herself. Tony strangling the new housemate to death for example? Not that she took that for possible. But would the driver find such important enough to tell her?!

She needed to find out! With wide strides Pepper marched to the barn.

She turned the handle.

Nothing happened.

The door was locked! That had never happened before!

“Tony?!” she shouted. Panic rose in her chest. What the hell was going on here?!

 

***

 

Peter stood beside the window and watched Mrs. Stark marching to the barn. He gulped. According to her body language she was furious. Mr. Stark apparently had locked the door which forced her to bang on the door loudly. He could not hear her but it was obvious that she called Mr. Stark’s name.

Peter hid behind the curtain to avoid being visible from down there. His heart bumped in his throat. Why was she so angry? Was it because of him? He gripped his hands to stop them from shaking.

He wished he knew what was going on and what he should do! Everything in him demanded that he stayed hidden and out of sight to avoid getting in between the two. He could not decipher if it was his mistake but it could become his, even if it wasn’t. It wouldn’t be the first time in human history that someone took the anger out on someone who could not defend themselves.

The door to the barn opened and Mrs. Stark went in. Peter held his breath. Would they come out and march to the house? To his room?

Nothing happened.

They did not come out. It seemed they were talking inside.

Peter’s breath came back, but he felt like he could throw up. His nervousness returned with full force and he had the feeling as if he was short of jumping out of his skin.

He needed to do something! He would go crazy if he remained here in his watching position! He looked around. The bathroom was clean but his own room could use a proper cleaning too. He nodded to himself and grabbed the fabric he had used for polishing the fittings. Because he had no cleaning rags he used the shirt he wore when he came from the school. It would do.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are writing fuel :3


	10. Attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank and appreciation for Aoife Laufeyson for beta-ing again.

A loud and insistent banging on the workshop door woke Tony from his uneasy slumber. He groaned and sat up on the worn out couch, carding his fingers through his unkempt hair. Then he recognized the voice.

Pepper!

He got up as fast as his tired body allowed and limped to the door. With two grips he unlocked it and stood in front of his lovely wife. Who wasn’t as lovely as she used to be, with wide eyes and cheeks red from shouting his name, her expression telling him that she was about to murder him.

“Hi sweetheart. Nice to see you.” he tried with an uneven smile.

She just stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

“What the fuck, Tony? I scream my lungs of for around five minutes, hammering my hands bloody and all I get is a ‘Hi sweetheart’?! Are you nuts? Why was the door locked? What is going on here Tony?!”

Too many questions at once. He scrunched up his face and stepped aside to let her in.

“Didn’t you say I should be more cautious? So I locked it when it became dark. To avoid being killed by thieves and such. At night.”

Pepper followed him inside, obviously not buying it a little bit. She crossed her arms.

“Is that so. And why did you sleep in the barn in the first place?” Tony pulled his lips between his teeth and looked to the skylight. She was too smart. He loved that about her. Among other things.

“I got carried away?” he tried. She pressed her lips together. And tapped her foot. Totally not buying it. He lifted his hands.

“Okay, okay. I was… stressed. You know how it is sometimes. I just… I couldn’t. I needed some space.” Her expression softened.

“Is he giving you a hard time? He seemed so shy at the first glance.”

“He is! Shy. And smart. And friendly. But…” he groaned and sat down on the old worn-out couch, he used to nap on. When he was not sleeping there the entire night that was. Tony rubbed his face in his hands. Pepper took the seat next to him, touching his shoulder in a compassionate gesture.

“He is dependent from me Pep. Absolutely and utterly dependent. And what he expects...”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know! Really! You won’t believe what they taught him in that school! He behaves like… like he has been educated to be a plaything! As if his only desire is to please me. A spineless, submissive… slave!” Now that he said it, the word was more than fitting and it gave Tony a shudder to even think that way about Peter.

Pepper hummed and Tony looked up, irritated. He had expected anger from her or disbelief, but she sounded as if she wanted to say ‘Thought so’. She caught his aghast look and smiled at him like she wanted to apologize.

“Well. It isn’t entirely unexpected.”

“What do you mean? You… you have no idea what he is willing to do! Do you think it is his job to please an alpha no matter what?!”

“I would never say that, and you know it. But… to me it isn’t something that does not fit into the big picture.” She took his hand.

“You’re an alpha Tony. You never experienced how the world turns around you because to you, it is… normal. But I’m a beta. And we learn from a very young age that we have to step aside if an alpha want to pass. We are the ones who turn around you. And omegas are the weakest part of the chain. I guess it is expected that a school, funded by alphas would have a certain… curriculum.”

Tony watched her with huge eyes. She couldn’t be serious. He would have never expected that the world moves aside only because he was coming along. And such a curriculum was… inhuman!

“If I’m not mistaken it is written in the constitution that all humans have the same rights. Omegas need to be protected because they are weak. But they are no slaves.” He answered stiffly. Somehow he felt attacked. She seemed to sense that because she rubbed her thump emphatically over his wrist and smiled. But her expression seemed sad.

“That’s the law, you’re right. But it is law too, that people who are not able to provide for themselves are brought to shelters and working houses where they don’t have a say in what they do and how they plan their life.

“Yeah, but it is because these people are unable to care for themselves. It is a way to help them. Should they end on the streets?!”

“How are omegas supposed to care for themselves?”

“They could get a job.”

“And who would hire a person who is attracting and sidetracking alphas and is ill for at least two to five weeks a year. Let alone that omegas are apparently not educated in things that might get you a job.”

‘ _Omegas are not allowed to learn how to read_.’

Peter’s words sprang to Tony’s mind. How is someone who is not able to read and write and to defend themselves able to lead a life on their own. Pepper was silent while the gears in his head turned up another gear. You don’t need to take away someone’s rights if you make it impossible for them to make use of them.

Tony looked at Pepper with wide eyes.

 

***

 

Tony had followed Pepper back into the mansion, deep in thoughts. Was it true that he as an alpha was unaware of the injustice that omegas (and betas, if he got Peppers soft critique in the right way) faced in everyday life? Maybe he was just a special case since he never went well with people and lived withdrawn for the last couple of years. To be honest, he never had spared a thought for omegas. They were rare and he never had met one. The person who birthed him must have been an omega, but he never knew them and never asked. Omegas only became interesting if it came to children. Since they were so rare and weak the government provided for them and saw to it that humanity would not die out. Tony had never thought about their living conditions.

Not until he met Peter.

Pepper and him went to the library where he sat on the couch, her head resting in his lap. She talked about New York and the developments with Ross and Fury and he tried his best to listen – the topic was dire and important. But a small part of him evolved around the omega under his roof and omegas in general.

Pepper sat up.

“Where you listening?” she asked with her eyebrows raised.

“Sure.” Tony answered but the heat that spread in his cheeks gave him away. Under her inquisitive look he never had the chance to get away with a lie. He gave her a lopsided grin and she shook her head slightly.

“By the way… where is he? I haven’t seen him all day?”

“You mean Peter? I don’t know.” Tony looked around as if the boy was hiding somewhere in den room. “He usually is here somewhere…”

Pepper watched him but nothing more came. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“I think it is time that I get to know him. At least we’ll live together.”

 

***

 

Pepper knocked softly on the guestroom door Tony had pointed out. She heard nothing and went in just to see the omega jumping off the floor. He stood straight, his face a mask of panic. He somehow looked sweaty and disheveled, but a faint smell of detergent was in the room. She furrowed her brow. What was going on with this boy?

Peter caught himself and curtsied.

“Mrs. Stark. May I help you?” he asked politely and held his gaze drawn to the ground.

“There is no need to address me so formally Peter” She smiled and went in further to come in front of him. Did he flinch slightly? Despite the growing unease Pepper managed to keep her smile on.

“Please, call me Pepper.”

He curtsied again but did not answer.

“I thought… maybe we can go for a walk tomorrow? The weather is nice. We can go to Greenbush… It’s not the hub of the world but it’s nice to see something different than the mansion, huh?” she tried with a friendly voice. Peter glanced at her from under his lashes but looked back down immediately.

“Yes, Mrs. S… uh… Madam Pepper. Uhm…”

‘Gosh, that boy is shy’. Pity rose in her when she saw him fidgeting in place before her. Then she recognized his slight tremble.

‘No, not shy. He fears me!’ The thought came suddenly and hit her like a hammer. Peter’s shaking hands, his downcast eyes, the fact that he had been out of sight the whole day. It was only due to Pepper’s self-control that she let not appear on her face what she felt in this very second. She just straightened her shoulders and nodded at Peter.

“Then it is set. We’ll have dinner within the next hour. Please come down and join us if you like.”

Peter nodded and Pepper left, a terrible feeling in her guts. No wonder that Tony was on the edge!

 

***

 

Dinner was an odd thing from Tony’s perspective. Pepper was strained while Peter sat shy and timid, the eyes glued to his plate. Tony noticed that the omega had seemed more relaxed the other days when they had dinner. He had not been exactly open but had eaten with a hearty appetite and looked Tony in the eye and smiled. His scent had been a relaxing sweet and fresh fragrance. Now he was a cut out of an omega guide book and smelled stressed and anxious. He sat at the edge of the chair, his back straight, nibbling on tiny pieces he artfully picked up with his fork. He never looked at Tony or Pepper and spoke not once.

Tony could not ask him about it, not when another person was around. He should talk to him once they were alone again, but not in front of Pepper. It would only embarrass Peter and give him the feeling that he had failed in front of his alpha’s wife – not good. So he sighed soundless and talked with Pepper about her work and the company.

All three of them were relieved when dinner was over. Peter excused himself shortly after, not without asking if there was something he could do for Tony or Pepper. When they declined he almost bowed and flit away.

Pepper and Tony remained in the small salon, a gloomy mood in the room.

Pepper and he didn’t stay awake long that evening. His night on the couch had left him with a sore back and his whole body demanded a good night’s sleep in his bed. Pepper herself said that she felt drained and that she wanted to get up early to have breakfast with Peter. She would take him for a walk to Greenbush, hoping that a bit time together would lift the mood. Tony had high hopes that she would manage to open Peter up a bit since she was the nicest person he knew. Hopefully the omega would get to know her the way he did.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are writer's tread <3


	11. Greenbush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for beta-ing, Aoife Laufeyson <3

Peter got up early again and waited anxiously for Mrs. Stark to come down. After breakfast she would take him for a walk. He tried to calm his nerves. She had been friendly to him yesterday, invited him for dinner and such. But in his books the partner of his alpha was a liability of sorts, a dangerous one if he got her on the wrong foot. With Mr. Stark it was easier somehow. He could recognize the alpha’s scent und thus gain an impression on how the man felt. And even then he often had no idea how to read the man’s actions. But betas did not emanate any scent. What if she had been friendly to make him feel safe, just to be cruel once they left the estate?

Well, nothing if. If she would be cruel he had to take whatever she was dealing him. And maybe the first impression of ‘ _Pepper’_ wasn’t entirely wrong. Peter hoped with all his heart that this might be true.

When Mrs. Stark came down she smiled at him and escorted him to the salon where Friday already had served the breakfast.

“Tony will stay in bed. He feels tired and does not want to join us. But the two of us will have a nice day, right?”

Peter nodded and poured tea.

Her smile became a bit strained but she said nothing to Peter’s silence and started to eat. Peter regarded her carefully for a moment and then too started into his meal.

 

***  


The sun was nice and the weather relatively dry when they made their way over the bumpy road. Pepper enjoyed wearing flat shoes at home instead of marching in four inch high heels. On these old streets she would break here ankle if she tried. Tony always said that he wanted to renew the asphalt but other things came first. The renovations of the farm houses for example.

Not all citizens of Greenbush were fond of changes. Pepper sighed and inhaled the fresh air deeply. This was one of the reasons why she regularly and Tony from time to time visited the village: to show their faces, to show that they cared. They did not like to renovate the village over the head of the people but some of them had to be carried to their benefit.

Peter was quiet. Pepper took note but did not try to bring him to talk. He would, if he started to trust her. So she was quiet too, smiled at him when she caught him staring and tried to enjoy their walk in silence.

She looked up. The blue of the sky was vibrant next to the golden-brown tree-tops and everything seemed to glow. She could almost forget how dire the situation really was. Coming to the estate was a kind of withdrawal from all the hassle in the city and most of the time Pepper was able to find some peace here.

Greenbush was nothing more than a couple of simple wooden houses. Exceptions were the tavern, the church which was also the school, the grocery-shop and the major’s and the doctor’s office, which were made from stone with white wooden window frames. All of these houses edged the central place of the village, next to a statue of the founder of Greenbush. Pepper liked to come here. She had grown up in the city and enjoyed the calm of the small settlement where every day was like the day before. Hopefully Peter would grow fond of the village since it was the only place he could reach on his own without Happy driving him.

 

***

 

Peter looked around, curious. He had never seen a place like this. His memory of New York, where he had lived with his aunt, was blurry and full of white spots. While in school, he never had the chance to see the outside of the estate. How other people lived was a mystery to him and he regarded anything with interest.

On such a sunny autumn day, the villagers took the opportunity to prepare for winter. Chopping wood and doing repairs, harvesting what was left in the gardens and orchards, everybody seemed to be busy. Some of the residents greeted Mrs. Stark with a friendly smile and a polite nod that she returned. Peter tried to stay close and not draw any attention.

He followed Mrs. Stark into the grocery-store where she chatted with the old beta who run the shop. She ordered things the estate needed constantly like flour and sugar and toothpaste, with the request to deliver it to the mansion. After that she walked over to the church, where a litter of children around the age of tree played on the lawn. The kid’s laughing rang through the air when they threw hands full of leaves at each other. Peter’s eyes grew bigger when he saw the kids at play, his heart making a little jump. Would his own children ever be that happy?

Mrs. Stark talked to the beta who watched over the kids, an elder man in the ordinariate of a sexton. Peter stayed behind her back since he knew these people only as authority figures who reprimanded everybody. The villager seemed friendly though, and had laughter lines around his eyes. ‘Better safe than sorry’ Peter thought and let Mrs. Stark do the talking while he looked around.

He was fascinated by the hustle and bustle in the village, but suddenly his eyes stopped at a brass plaque on a pedestal next to the white picket fence of the church. Since he had read every badge in the school he automatically started with this one. A chill grew up his spine the more he deciphered the words meaning.

_In love and memory to the children that where given to the omega raising program  
in order to aid in the obtainment of their home-state New York._

Under that where names inscribed. Omegas who, around the age of eleven, were taken away from their families in order to live in a school. Peter counted almost twenty, the last one _Adrian Jones_.

He blinked.

A voice behind his back interrupted his thoughts. As if summoned Mary smiled at him and waved

“Hey there.” Peter, unable to get his thoughts together to find an answer, just stared at her until she raised her brows in question. “What’s up, Peter?”

Peter saw from the corner of his eye how Mrs. Stark turned around, obviously interested who was greeting the omega in her care. Peter watched her in horror, almost seeing her getting angry at him because he had talked to a villager. All his fears rushed back and adrenalin let his heart rate speed up immediately and then… she smiled at Mary.

“Hello Mary. What a nice coincidence.” She looked at Peter and then back to the girl in front of her. “You know Peter?”

“Yes Ma’am. We met when I delivered the goods to the estate the other day.” Mary smiled widely at Mrs. Stark and Peter felt his breath escape. He hadn’t even noticed that he had held it until relieve washed over him like he was standing in a shower. He didn’t even hear what Mary was saying to the misses. At the second Mrs. Stark turned to him again however, he snapped to attention.

“Peter, how about you and Mary chat a bit. I need to see the major and I bet that would be pretty boring for you. So since you already know someone in this lovely town, maybe she could show you around a bit? It won’t take long.” She tilted her head a bit and awaited his answer. Peter tried to gauge her meaning – was she honestly asking his opinion or just pretend to be interested in it? But with a beta it was hopeless. He had to take what he was seeing since he could not smell her intentions. So he nodded carefully.

“Fine.” She smiled even brighter at him and then at Mary, turned around and left them standing next to the church.

Mary nudged him softly in the ribs and grinned.

“Come on. No need to play pillar of salt. How have you been?!”

Peter and Mary walked slowly from the church to the middle of the central place, chatting about the last two days and what had happened after she had left the estate. Of course Mary’s life was a hundred percent more varied than Peter’s since had basically had done nothing than worry about Mr. Starks mood, but Mary had a lot of questions about the stark estate and how it was run. He told her as good as he was able to. Mary asked him especially about the mechanical servants she had heard of.

“How do you know all that?” Peter asked in true astonishment.

She shrugged her shoulders with a mischievous grin.

“Well, one has one’s methods… And once Mr. Stark brought a robot here to show how it was able to mow. I think that is amazing. He wants to renovate village, has even started.” She pointed at the church and the store. “Look, there on the roofs.” Peter’s gaze followed her hand and he saw broad panels of dark material on one side of the two rooftops.

“I don’t know how it works but these things make electricity! In the church they heat water with it so that the kids can have a hot bath and cooking is easier too. And in ol’ Mrs. Beavis’ store they cool meat and fish with it.” Her eyes glowed while she spoke and Peter knew that his face had the same expression. Mr. Stark was a true genius!

“The most of the older people here don’t like those changes.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m so happy that Pops and Dad are open for such things. Mr. Stark wants to build an apple harvester for them next spring.” She seemed as if she could go on like that for hours and Peter liked to hear her talk but something pressed in him to ask her so he overcame his shy nature and pressed on.

“Say… uhm… I… about the church. Do the children live there?” She watched him stunned for a second, torn out of her string of words.

“What? Why… no.” she looked to the bunch of playing littles in the churches garden.

“Oh, you mean…ah I get it. No. Every one of them is in a family. But since it is fall season and everybody is either harvesting or doing repairs, the littles are cared for by pater Mike. And only the kids who are too small to help their parents. Until noon he is also the teacher for the older ones.”

“Until they turn eleven or twelve…” Peter muttered to himself, watching the playing kids with a growing sadness. Mary had heard him nevertheless.

“Yes…” she admitted, looking at her shoes. Somehow the atmosphere had changed suddenly.

Peter turned to her and it took all his bravery to ask the next question.

“There was a plaque… with the name Adrian Jones on it. Was he…?”

She nodded. Neither of them said a word for a minute. Mary’s voice was timid when she finally spoke.

“Dad was so happy when I turned eleven and presented as beta. He cried and Pops wasn’t able to comfort him. I guess he never really got over it that they took Adrian away and that he had to let him go. And the chance to get a second child is so, so low.” When she lifted her eyes to Peter’s again they were shining wet. “But they got me.”

Peter forced himself to smile, even if he felt like crying.

“They got you.”

 

***

 

Peter and Mary sat on a bench next to a tree and waited for Mrs. Stark to return. It was a warm afternoon for the season and the two chatted animatedly about their respective lives in the village versus the estate. After the sad topic of Mary’s older brother, they had had a silent agreement to find happy things to talk about. Peter was curious about Mary’s life and how she helped her parents with the orchard and all, while Mary could not hear enough about the estate’s modernity’s like plumping and electric lights.

Suddenly the topic changed to the inhabitant of the Mansion.

“So… how is it to live with Mr. and Mrs. Stark?

“Uhm… what do you mean?” Peter felt his face heating up.

“Well… how is he? And what are you doing there at all?” She waited for his answer but Peter had no idea how to explain it. It could have been easy, he just had to mention that he was omega and she could count one and one together. Maybe she already suspected it and just wanted to give him the opportunity to tell her. But somehow he could not. Or would not? He wasn’t sure. He just knew that the fact that he had been brought here to conceive Mr. Stark’s children embarrassed him somehow. Yes, in the school they called it ‘becoming engaged’ and all that. But in fact he had been bought like a broodmare and this was his purpose. Nothing you’d like to talk about.

‘People are more than their reproductive organs.’ Mr. Stark’s words appeared in his mind. He looked into Mary’s friendly face, opening his mouth.

Despite the warm sun Peter suddenly felt a chill creeping up his spine.

Every word he wanted to say died on his tongue. He could not point out where it came from but he wasn’t also able to shake it off. His body froze, blocking out anything else than the feeling of sudden danger.

“Peter? Hello?” Mary leaned in, an irritated expression on her face.

A shadow fell on them. Peter looked up, feeling cold when the realization washed over him what his subconscious had tried to tell him.

Alpha!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated! :)


	12. Approach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for Aoife Laufeyson for a super awesomely fast beta-ing <3

Peter’s body was frozen and unable to move a single step. He just looked up at the alpha who suddenly had appeared next to him and Mary. She was a young one, only a couple years older than him, the long hair in a thick braid over her shoulder and clad in working clothes. She loomed above him, broad shouldered and mighty, her whole presence commanding him to cow and submit. She looked him up and down like a piece of meat, her smile sharp like a razor blade and her eyes glinted with unsavory interest.

“Hey there…” she murmured with a low voice that vibrated through Peter’s core, friendly on the surface, but to his ears it sounded like a threat. Mary however, was oblivious to that underlying vibe and greeted her fellow citizen with a friendly wave.

“Hey Josie, how’s it going?”

Josie didn’t spare her a glance. Her eyes were fixed on the omega in front of her. Her eyes narrowed a bit.

“Who are you, precious?” she asked and leaned in a bit. Peter could do nothing other than watch her with wide fearful eyes. He felt the connection between them through the scent he inhaled but in contrast to Mr. Stark’s scent, hers appalled him. He wanted nothing more than make her go away and leave him in peace. But how? His fear-shuttered brain supplied no solution.

In school he had been told that he was not able to stand up against an alpha. He was an omega, infirm, weak-willed, and easy to impress. His only chance was that someone would rush to his rescue! His heart raced while every instinct screamed at him to run, hide, get away from her before she could claim him.

“Josie… I think you frighten him. Could you please…” Mary came closer and gripped Peters arm to steady him but recoiled when Josie violently bared her teeth at her.

“Shut up!” the alpha growled at Mary. Then she got a grip on herself “This is nothing for you, beta-girl. I want to talk to your little friend.”

Peter gulped.

 

***

 

“Step. Back. Now!” A female voice sounded, one that commanded respect. Immediately. Josie looked up and a low growl escaped her throat.

Pepper fixated her with the iron-hard glare she had had to learn during endless discussions with alphas within the company. As soon as she had left the majors office she saw at once that the textbook example of a female appearing alpha was after Peter. Her long strides and her fixated gaze were bound to the unexpecting omega under the tree. A predator on the track of their prey.

It wasn’t possible for Pepper to run over the place to arrive earlier because only betas and omegas ran. It had undermined her dominance even before the confrontation had started. Alphas never needed to run and to overcome an alpha one had to face them on their own battlegrounds. So Pepper had come near in steady steps and upright, confident posture.

The alpha woman bared her teeth at Pepper and she cringed on the inside. ‘Isn’t she aware how awkward she looks like that?’ The gesture was bound to other alphas who would be irritated about her increasing scent by now. Pepper knew that but to her nose-blind interpretation of the situation this posturing appeared ridiculous.

Still, she remained calm and unwavering on the outside. But she would not bare her teeth – there were boundaries!

“He isn’t free.” She stated cold as a glacier. “Leave.”

Short sentences, to push through the heat in their head when they are aroused. Unwavering eye contact, straight shoulders. Pepper stared her down.

Josie attempted to say something but Pepper just stepped forward, right into her personal space.

The alpha flinched.

It was over.

The sign of weakness she had not been able to keep to herself broke her attempted dominance. She ducked her head and left, not looking back to the trio by the bench.

Peter and Mary watched Pepper with wide eyes, the omega shivering and pale, the beta with something like hero worship in her eyes. Mary jumped from the bench.

“That was AWESOME! Can I learn how to do that?!” she gasped and this broke the spell. All the tension crashed at once and Pepper started to laugh until she had tears in her eyes. Mary laughed with her and even Peter had a tiny smile on his face.

 

***

After that situation it was more than obvious what his position in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Stark was, but Mary didn’t mention it and Peter was thankful for it. The girl accompanied him and Mrs. Stark to the border of the village and somehow she seemed to feel guilty for what had happened. Mrs. Stark seemed to sense that and left them to walk a bit forward to wait for Happy to come. Before they had left the house she had arranged that the driver would pick them up in Greenbush in order to load some goods she had purchased. Even if she gave Peter and Mary some space, Mrs. Stark stayed in close proximity and watched them from the corner of her eyes, in case that someone else would make an approach.

Peter regarded his own shoes, feeling ashamed in front of Mary.

“I’m sorry.” Both of them said in unison, stopped, looked up and started to smile. She chuckled.

“No, seriously. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you into an uncomfortable situation. But I never thought about… you know…”

He nodded. “Omegas.”

“No! Alphas!” She looked him in the eye with a fierce determination.

“This wasn’t your fault, okay?” He looked down, the shame about his weak nature pressing him down but she was having none of it.

“Look at me Peter. It wasn’t your fault.” She pressed on with a soft but unwavering voice.

Peter looked up. She regarded him with a warm expression and as soon as their eyes meet she smiled. A weight he didn’t know he was carrying, lifted from his chest.

“I… uhm… I should have told you, that… that… I…”

“That you’re omega? Do you think I didn’t get that already?” she crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised. His eyes went wide.

“You knew! But… but…”

“It was pretty obvious from the start, you know. I’m form a small village but I’m no idiot.”

Peter felt a warm feeling spread in his chest. Mary had known about his nature but still had been happy to see him. Without noticing he straightened his shoulders.

The arrival of a car interrupted them. To his utter surprise Mary hugged him tight before the car stopped next to Mrs. Stark.

“Promise me to visit again! I’ll practice to detect alphas, I swear!” she grinned at him, holding up her pinky finger.

He grinned at her and returned the gesture with his own.

 

***

 

When they arrived at the mansion Mrs. Stark immediately called for her husband. Peter was a bit anxious that he was in trouble but somehow the incidents in Greenbush had broken the ice between him and Mrs. Stark. She had defended him and hadn’t even scolded him on the way home for his inattentiveness.

‘An omega who is caught unaware by an alpha is at fault’ was a lesson he had learned. ‘Be alert! Watch out! When they get you, nobody will save you!’

But the misses had saved him!

He stayed behind her when Mr. Stark arrived, still cleaning his oil stained hands on a rug. He listened when she explained the situation to him, calm, but vivid. Mr. Stark’s eyes grew wide and he stepped up to Peter, grabbing him by the shoulders. Peter flinched and Mr. Stark let go of him immediately.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, looking up and down Peter’s body with a frightened expression. Peter released the breath he had held, watching Mr. Stark with wide eyes.

“I’m trying to tell you that nothing happened. I got there in time” Mrs. Stark explained in a tired voice but Mr. Stark seemed not relieved.

“I’m fine, Sir.” Peter tried to assure the man in front of him. And he was. He had been scared to hell and back but then Mrs. Stark had saved him. He smiled a little. “Please, don’t worry.”

Mr. Stark looked from him to his wife and back. Then he shook his head and murmured something about ‘alphas’ to himself, while Peter and Mrs. Stark followed him inside. Over tea and sweet bread rolls they explained everything in detail to him and Peter didn’t even notice that a small smile stayed on his face the whole time. Somehow the threatening vision of his new life with a married couple became a soft glowing sphere of homeliness and safety. It felt like… home.

 

***

 

The evening went well. Mrs. Stark, Mr. Stark and Peter had dinner together and Peter had listened to the pair talking, for once not scared to make any mistake or misbehave in any kind of way. He had just  sat there, eaten the delicious food Friday served from the kitchen, and felt safe.

That feeling slowly trickled away after he had left for the night. His room still was cozy and the sheets soft and warm. But somehow that was only a surface, an illusion of safety with something frightening underneath.

He lay awake that night, staring into the darkness, the bedcovers drawn up to his chin. No matter how much he tried to shake off the episode of the day, his mind always came back to the moment when he recognized the alpha’s smell in close proximity.

He shivered and rolled to his side, in order to hunch up his shoulders and draw up his knees until he was nothing more than a small ball of warmth in the huge bed.

What if Mrs. Stark hadn't  come? During dinner,  her and Mr. Stark had talked about the incident. He learned that the Misses was well experienced in dealing with aggressive alphas because of leading Stark Industries. She had known what to do. But if she hadn’t been there…

Peter pulled the cover over his head, pressing his teeth together to stop them from clattering.

If she had not been there, the alpha would have taken him with her. That he was sure of. Maybe Mary would have tried to get help, but if they would have arrived in time was doubtful. Every beta knew not to interfere in alpha’s business.

Peter bit down on his knuckles. The alpha would have violated him. Maybe even claimed him. Against his will, but since an omega’s wish doesn’t matter, nobody would have held her responsible. It was the right of an alpha to claim an unmated omega. She had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the people. An alpha had the right to do what they wanted.

Suddenly Peter ripped his eyes open and stared into the darkness of his makeshift cocoon. He needed to get closer to Mr. Stark. He needed his scent on him, his mark on his neck. It was no guarantee that something like today would not happen again but the best assurance that he could get. At least it would be against the law if an alpha tried to force themselves on him.

Mr. Stark must claim him. Soon.

Peter blinked into the darkness. Tomorrow Mrs. Stark would leave for the city. He would be alone with Mr. Stark again. Resolve bloomed in his chest and he stopped shivering. It felt like a flame, a fire burning stronger and stronger with each second. He knew exactly what to do, even if he did not know how. He must seduce the alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments... you know what I'm going to say, right? ;D


	13. Seduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Aoife Laufeyson for beta! <3

It took a couple of days until Peter was able to put his plan into practice. Mr. Stark was busy and Peter himself to nervous and anxious to take a step in the planned direction. Somehow that seemed to be the right path since Mr. Stark grew more calm and collected than he had before the weekend.

Slowly the omega got used to the quiet of the house, especially in the early morning, when Mr. Stark was not awake yet. Even during the day there was just the quiet buzz of the robots on duty to be heard. In school he had been surrounded by other omegas all day since they had joint dormitories and class together. But Mr. Stark seemed to prefer to be solitary. Peter tried to not let it bother him that he felt a bit lonely. It somehow felt as if Mr. Stark tried to avoid him but Peter did not want to think about that so he tried to be busy.

Mr. Hogan wasn’t a good source for companionship either. He always seemed to be occupied with maintaining the car and the garage, or reading the newspaper. When Peter greeted him, he often just grumped at him. But Peter didn’t mind. He had a plan and he focused on it with the same determination he held up for his studies.

On Monday and Tuesday, Peter stayed in the library while Mr. Stark spent the most of the day in his workshop. The two of them only met during the meals but they spent all of those together and talked. Mr. Stark asked him about his reading and let Peter show his writing attempts. Peter on the other hand was curious about Mr. Stark’s progress in the workshop and even if he didn’t fully understand the most of the things the engineer explained, he loved to listen to him. The alphas eyes shone like dark diamonds when he was talking about the things he did in his workshop and Peter could listen to him for days. Mr. Stark seemed to sense his curiosity and recommended books about tech topics to read – much better than novels, even if the words were much more difficult.

Wednesday Mr. Stark was out of the house the whole day and asked Peter to stay within the mansion in order to avoid any incident like in the village. Peter was eager to obey this specific wish. He had no intention to ever again be alone with another alpha.

Peters next intellectual goal was mathematics. He could count and do basic calculations but that wasn’t enough to fully grasp what Mr. Stark was doing. So he spent a lot of his time reading about the topic. It wasn’t possible to do tech without math and Peter was determined to expand his horizon in this direction. He wasn’t sure if it was because he truly wanted this or because Mr. Stark was into it but there was no point in pondering about the why’s and if’s. It kept him motivated and when he was able to show Mr. Stark in the evening what he had accomplished, the man seemed truly impressed and praised him. It lit a fire in his belly he wasn’t able to understand but he didn’t try to grasp it, just pushed it aside and moved on. He had more important things on his mind.

 

***

 

Thursday came with bad weather, stormy and cloudy, full of rain and falling leaves. Peter woke excited and giddy. Today Mr. Stark would take him to his workshop again. He had promised over dinner since he had made a huge progress with his actual project and because Peter had been very interested, he promised to show him today.

Peter stepped out of the shower and dried himself with a fluffy towel. It was still dark but he had got up early, unable to find more rest in face of what he was about to do today.

Peter plodded into the bedroom, his bare feet soundless on the thick rug. The air was cozy and warm because of the central heater, even if the weather turned more and more chilled. The rain splattering on the window was the only sound in the room. He came to a halt in front of the full body mirror next to the armoire. The towel glided to the ground, leaving pale skin behind.

Peter regarded his reflection in the glass. He had never thought about how to seduce an alpha. There had been no reason. Alphas took what they wanted and they always wanted sex with omegas. He had believed that. It had been told to him every day of the past six years. And even beyond that. Everybody knew it. Alphas bragged about it. Betas whispered about it. Omegas lived with the knowledge. But now he was in company and care of an alpha who was… slow in his approach so to say.

Deep inside Peter was thankful for it. He had feared his first intimacy and felt nothing but relief that it had not been like he had envisioned it. But the encounter with the alpha from the village had taught him a lesson. He needed Mr. Stark’s mark on him. It was all he had against other alphas.

But how should he get that? His eyes roamed over his body. Did he even have anything to offer? He knew that most omegas used to be small and delicate. He was short, even for an omega but his physique never had given someone reason to complain. He had been chosen to be raised in the school because of his looks. He just had not lived to meet the expectations.

In the school, looks had been very important. How to care for their own beauty was an independent subject there, since it kept one in good graces and thus feed and warm. Peter tilted his hip a bit. They were slender too. Maybe Mr. Stark preferred omegas with broader forms, better to sire children. But when he thought closely about it, Mr. Stark didn’t appear as if he did not find him attractive. And he had bought him in the first place! And scent was so much more important than form!

Peter stilled. Scent!

His fingers glided over the part of his neck where the mark would take place, once Mr. Stark would give him one. Here, his scent was the strongest. Here and…

He bit his lip nervously when his other hand crept over his belly. He watched himself in the mirror while his fingers slowly moved downwards, over his mons veneris. He had never touched himself there except to clean. But he knew this was the second part of his body where his scent was strong. In school the teachers had informed them that an alpha most likely wanted to sniff there before sex. Peter remembered how embarrassed und indignant he and his classmates had been about it. The idea that he would bow low and another person would…

But somehow the picture became another notion, now that he envisioned Mr. Stark doing it. Sniffing him. Maybe even… licking.

Peter blinked. Suddenly his mouth was dry and he felt a strange feeling in his belly. Not the mad butterflies he had the other day when Mr. Stark had complimented his writing, but a sort of… tingling.

Where had he been? Oh, right. Scent! The strongest between his legs. But how should he use this information. He could not sit in Mr. Starks face or something like that.

‘Arousal makes it stronger. That’s why an alpha can smell an omega in heat on a very wide range’ their teacher had said.

Arousal.

Peter took a look over his shoulder, as if he feared that somebody could see him and what he was about to do. He told himself that he only did it because he needed Mr. Starks mark. He knew how to behave; he had been taught very thoroughly. But it was necessary. Not something he might do because of… reasons.

His finger slipped between his folds. He found wetness there. Peter closed his eyes.

 

***

 

Peter seemed… strange today. His eyes were somehow glassy and his small chest was rising in a very distracting way. The boy wasn’t able to sit still at breakfast, shifting his weight on his chair constantly. And his lips. They were… shiny. As if wet. Peter licked them now and then. Right now he was eating a croissant and a bit of strawberry jam dripped on his finger. And then… holy Newton… he licked his finger clean. The boy obviously wasn’t aware what he was doing but Tony’s gaze was fixed on the pink tongue chasing a wayward drop of red sweetness.

Peter looked up, his warm brown eyes on Tony’s and the man felt his face heating up. What the heck was wrong with him today?! He cleared his throat and focused on his own meal. But Peter’s presence was a constant pressing on the outskirts of his conscience, as if the boy somehow formed a strong gravity that drew Tony in inevitable. He felt unexplainable hot and too tight in his clothes even if he just wore an old long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

“Is everything alright Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, his voice a soft whisper, a little bit coarse but velvety at the same time. It was as if the words caressed Tony’s ears and a shiver ran down his spine.

It was awful! He had thought they had overcome this. HE had overcome this. The last two days had been perfect, Peter and he had talked and nothing off had happened to him. But it was even more intense than last week. Tony felt as if his blood was boiling and Peter seemed completely oblivious. The boy watched him, his sinfully pink mouth slightly open, his pupils blown wide. Tony could see his throat move when he swallowed. That long, pale throat, that lead to a perfectly smooth juncture of his neck and shoulder. Who allowed the boy to wear shirts that had such a broad neckline? He was practically naked!

Tony focused his eyes on his plate and murmured something unintelligible. Peter inclined his head – Tony could see it from the corner of his eye. He got up, hoping that his semi hard cock wasn’t visible in his jeans. Luckily the boy’s eyes where fixed on Tony’s face.

“I’ll go and… I… wash… my hands… before I go to the workshop. Yes.”

He turned and left his half eaten breakfast on the table, swearing to himself that he would not leave his room until a lot of very cold water had cured whatever was going on with him!

 

***

Peter felt a bit discouraged when Tony left so suddenly. A small voice inside him told him that he, and what he was able to give, was not wanted. He gripped his hands under the table. He needed to convince the alpha that he was worth it. What else could hinder Mr. Stark in claiming him. They knew each other now and Peter was ready for him. More than that if he was honest with himself. He had caressed himself this morning up to a point where he thought that he could not stand it any longer and then stopped. Since then his mind was foggy and the need to get closer to the alpha pushed everything aside.

“I can be worthy enough, Mr. Stark. I swear.” He whispered to himself, his determination growing again.

Peter got up and went outside, to wait for Mr. Stark in front of his barn.

 

***

 

Tony felt faint when he saw Peter standing next to the barn but he had promised the boy to show him what he had been doing the last couple of days. Peter’s face lit up so beautifully when Tony came near that he didn’t have the guts to send him away, even if his own mind felt as if it was frayed at the edges. He forced himself to smile.

“Hey. There you are. Curious about my project, huh?”

Peter nodded eagerly smiling his bright and honest smile.

Tony sighed internally and led him inside.

 

***

 

Dealing with his project cooled him down a bit. The suit was almost finished, a flexible full-body armor that made him look like a robot himself once he would wear it. Peter was stunned and looked at it from all sides, asking thousand questions on about it worked and how it was made and so on. Tony answered all of them, pointed things out and showed them to Peter, feeling a warm feeling spreading inside him. Peter honestly was interested in this and somehow it made everything better, curbed the strange and strained atmosphere between them. 

Peter started to explore the suit functions in his own and Tony relaxed even more. He started with his own things, working on a cable holder inside one of the gloves. Everything was right there, in his head. He knew that the thing would move, he electricity would be strong enough to support the movement of the human’s limbs inside and thus the whole machine would bend to their will. But he couldn’t figure out how to power the damn thing up! His mind pondered on the old questions while he tinkered around.

As if he had read Tony’s thoughts Peters voice peeped up.

“What is this empty space here, Mr. Stark?”

Tony came closer to have a look where Peter’s hand was pointing at. His small hand rested on the breast plate where a round hole was left open. Tony stood behind the boy and leaned in without even noticing.

“That is supposed to be the power unit. This part is the most difficult.” He said with regret. Peter turned to him.

“Because it needs to be so small that the person is able to move in the suit, but at the same time strong enough to affect the two-hundred pounds?”

Tony’s eyes widened.

“Yes…”

Peter looked at the sheets of construction drawings, leaning over it a bit. “It must be a very compacted kind of power source without getting to hot…” he murmured more to himself.

Tony watched him. The boy was so smart. He knew almost nothing about the wonders of technology but he had grasped the main part of the problem almost instantly. Tony watched Peters neck move when the boy leaned a bit closer to regard a certain part of the plan.

Peter’s scent was so close. Tony inhaled it and closed his eyes. This sweet and seductive smell. Without noticing it the alphas nose brushed Peter’s hair.

The boy stilled.

Tony leaned a bit closer. How had it happened that he pressed on Peter from behind?

His mouth graced over Peter’s neck.

Another inhale. Peter shivered. Tony could feel it because his hand had wandered to the boy’s arm, pulling him close. Both of them slowly stood upright, Tony still pressing on Peter’s back. The boy turned his head, looking at Tony who was so close. His mouth was pink, slightly open and inviting, his scent growing stronger. The omega closed his eyes when Tony leaned in.

Their lips touched.

Tony felt surrounded by the sweet scent that clouded his mind and made him sink into arousal. His mouth nipped on those sinful lips, caressing them until Peter opened up a bit. Tony’s tongue used the opportunity to slip between them, tasting the sweetness of Peter’s mouth even more. Peter’s tongue was hesitant at first but started to interact slowly, rubbing against Tony’s. The kiss deepened even more, hot breath mingling together, soft touches of lips and tongues, the closeness of their bodies growing even hotter than before.

Tony’s lips glided from Peter’s mouth to his jaw, leaving small kisses in their wake while his hands held Peter’s hip. Totally unaware what he was doing, he rubbed his crotch softly on Peter’s ass, his erection more than prominent in his trousers. Tony’s tongue tasted the skin that was as sweet as the omega’s scent, arousing, tempting to do more, go further. Tony mouthed at the soft skin, arriving at the place where Peter’s neck met the shoulder. The marking space. Tony sucked the skin between his teeth.

Peter moaned loudly, arching his back. His ass pressed into Tony’s crotch, making him come almost in his pants.

The sudden movement ejected Tony out of his heated daze. Like a bucket of ice-water the realization hit him what he was about to do. He jerked back, letting go of Peter, taking a step back to get out of the alluring proximity.

Peter turned around, watching him with hooded eyes, his cheeks and lips pink and oh so tempting.

“Mr. Stark…?” he whispered, obviously not as much shocked as Tony was.

Horror flushed through his veins. How could he have lost control so completely? He felt betrayed by his own body, reduced to animalistic instincts, not the master in his own house anymore.

 “I’m sorry. I… I’m… I need to go.” Tony fled. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are writing fuel... <3


	14. Visitor

Peter had left the barn after it became apparent that Mr. Stark wasn’t coming back. He tried to contain his tears and move on, desperately clinging to the idea that he didn’t really understand what went on in the alphas head.

He had rejected him. Again.

Peter entered the house and Friday informed him that Mr. Stark had left with Happy. It was not to be expected that he would be back before dinner.

Peter thanked her and stood in the hallway, unsure what to do. Had Mr. Stark found their encounter so unbearable that he had left? Or had he just remembered a date he needed to attend? He had told Peter that he tended to forget such things and from Mrs. Stark he knew that he wasn’t very good in explaining what was going on in his head. That could be it.

Somehow Peter felt deep inside him that Mr. Stark had in fact rejected him. His heart ached at the thought that he still was not worthy of Mr. Starks attention. He would do anything to be his but he didn’t know how to accomplish that. He looked up.

‘Of course!’, he thought. Mr. Stark was a genius! He obviously didn’t want an illiterate dunce to conceive his children. Peter needed to raise up to the expectations before he was worthy of Mr. Starks affection!

First thing was getting better in what Mr. Stark liked at him. He brushed over his cheeks to get rid of the wetness there and went to the library to continue his studies. He had said something clever about Mr. Starks machine, hadn’t he? And that had led to the kiss. Maybe this was the right path to go on.

He gripped his pen and opened his books.

 

***

 

In the late afternoon the rain stopped and it was becoming dark and foggy again. Peter had ended his writing exercise, exhausted from the unfamiliar work. He decided to wait in the library for Mr. Starks return instead of returning to his bedroom. Now he was a bit unsure how to occupy himself with so he looked around the room, touching this and that from Tony’s late mother. Maybe some of the contents in the shelves could tell him more about the mysterious man he belonged to.

After their little incident today, he decided to wait for the Mr. Stark to make the next step. Someday Mr. Star would, wouldn’t he? Until then Peter just had to be super cautious of other alphas around. Better not to leave the house at all.

When he was worthy, Mr. Stark would claim him. He needed to be patient. If the alternative was to drive the man away, he definitely needed to wait. How he should deal with the feelings that grew stronger each day was beyond him but he had been educated to be reticent und modest. He could manage it.

Peter tried to switch his thoughts to something else. The atmosphere in the book filled room was nice and cozy. The fireplace reminded him of the better parts of the school and gave the place a sort of homeliness. With the fragrance of wood, its crackling and roaring, the blazing fire brought life into the otherwise silent room. The rest of the house was quiet. Peter would get used to it soon he hoped.

Friday had brought him sandwiches around noon, so he wasn’t really hungry. Nevertheless, he looked forward to spend the dinner with Mr. Stark. If the alpha would be back that was. He took a silver-framed picture from a shelf and looked at it closely in the dim light. It was a black and white photography, showing a younger Mr. Stark who looked with an expressionless face into the camera.

The moment when the alpha had touched him came to his mind and filled him with a warm excited feeling. He had looked up to the alpha who had been so close. The unique scent of Mr. Stark, combined with his aftershave had made his head spin and a strange longing started to unfold inside of him, stronger than everything before.

A sudden movement in the garden tore Peter out of his thoughts.

He looked up.

There had been something. It was hard to see in the foggy dark but Peter was sure. He stepped to the side to get a better look, the framed picture still in hand.

There! A person moved through the garden. A servant? Or a villager?

Peter peered into the twilight.

A hazy figure moved around. Chill crept up Peters spine when the person came to a halt in the light of the library.

A rider.

He wore a military uniform and was tall and dark skinned, sitting on the back of a huge, grey horse that restless stamped his hooves. Instead of coming to the front door, he had driven his horse right into the courtyard! His confident posture and the marvelous steed indicated that he was alpha.

Peter felt cold all of a sudden.

The intruder dismounted and looked around, as if he searched for something.

Peter stepped back from the window. Should he shout? But only Friday was – probably – in close proximity. He didn’t want to draw even more attention of the stranger than he already had.

His heart raced in his chest as he stepped back, not aware that he was clearly visible in the lit room from the dark outside. Then the intruder looked straight at him. His face darkened. With long strides he marched to the patio doors. Peter stumbled backwards. His eyes flew to the latch of the patio doors. It was not blocked!

The rider ripped open the framed glass-doors marched inside the library.

He frowned at Peter, who regarded him like a deer in headlights.

The man was armed. A military looking saber and a gun hang from his hips, but his body seemed to be a weapon too, well build and obviously ready for battle.

Peter’s heart thundered in his chest as he creeped backwards. He needed to reach the hallway, but he dared not to turn his back at the stranger. Sweat ran down his temple.

 “Who are you?!” the intruder basked. Peter wasn’t able to decipher his scent since the wet and musky autumn air came inside with him but he decided to be better safe than sorry.

On his way backwards he knocked a plant over and the pot crashed to the floor. It startled Peter even more and almost cried out. The picture in his hand fell too. His hand found the doorknob behind his back.

He flinched when the man walked towards him with long powerful strides. He whirled around, desperately trying to open the door to flee but before Peter could slip out the man grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. With a loud thud he crashed him backwards to the wall.

“Trying to burgle, huh?!” again he shoved the frightened omega hard against the wall.

From this close Peter could smell that the man was beta but that did not help him in the slightest! An angry intruder, seemingly familiar with the house but unable to recognize Peter as omega und thus harmless. He did not look forward to a beating but in his panicking mind he wasn’t able to find the right words.

“I’m Peter!” he gasped and tried to escape the grip. “I live here!”

The man frowned even more.

“What?!”

They looked at each other. Footsteps were to be heard from the hallway, accompanied by Friday’s quiet whirring. ‘Oh god, please, let Friday got help!’ Peter prayed silently.

The door to the hallway opened and Mr. Stark burst in, Friday at his heels. He stopped, taking in the scene with an appalled expression.

“What the fuck is going on in here? I’m hanging my coat on the front door and you ambush my omega?!”

 

He looked from the man to Peter, who was still cornered and frightened. The alpha smelled like confusion and rising anger, which made Peter even more anxious. Had he done something wrong.

“Tony… There you are.”

“Yes, Rhodey, here I am. Could you please be so kind and let Peter go? You’re frightening him!” Mr. Stark used polite words but the tone was clearly a demand. The stranger immediately let go and stepped back, his face a painting of confusion. Mr. Stark went nearer and stepped between the intruder and Peter, which made the omega more than thankful. Alphas were supposed to protect their omega and he was in dire need of said protection. Hopefully Mr. Stark would not be too angry with him for snubbing a man that was clearly a friend of the house.

After the man called Rhodey had taken a couple of steps back Peter peered at him from behind Mr. Starks back and took in the appearance. The man was in uniform but he was soaked. It seemed as he had been hit by the rain earlier.

He swiped over his forehead and made a face at Mr. Stark.

“Can somebody explain what’s going on in here? I come by as requested, get almost drowned, find your library with a stranger who does who knows what. And then you try to rip my head of like an alpha drunkard from the local pub?!”

Mr. Stark calmed down and sighed.

“I’m sorry. I…” he stepped aside and gave way for Peter to be taken a look on. “This is Peter. I brought him here from the NYSO. He lives here now.”

Rhodey’s eyebrows rose and didn’t came back down. He looked from Mr. Stark to Peter and back. “An omega?! You bought yourself an omega? Does Pepper know?”

“Of course she does!” Mr. Stark snarled and turned to Friday.

“Friday, Mr. Rhodes needs clothes and a towel. See to that please. And give word to the cook that we will be three people for dinner. After that prepare a guest room, it’s almost dark. Nobody wants the Colonel to break his neck on the way back.”

Friday nodded and whirred away. Mr. Rhodes shock his head at Tony and followed her.

Mr. Stark turned to Peter.

“Are you alright?”

The omega nodded. Intimidated, he didn’t know what to say and kept his head low.

“It seems we’ll have a guest for dinner. Will you help Friday to set everything?”

Peter nodded again and left for the dining room. He didn’t look forward to eat at the same table as this Mr. Rhodes but it wasn’t his place to complain. At least Mr. Stark wasn’t mad at him it seemed. He would show his best behavior tonight.

 

***

 

“I thought you stopped the weapons manufacturing?” Rhodey said. “What is this new project, if not a weapon if you ask a military officer to have a look at it?” He took a bite of his bread roll and regarded Tony with a curious expression.

“Wait until you see it with your own eyes.” Tony smirked and gestured with his fork. “You won’t believe me anyways.”

Rhodey’s lopsided smile wasn’t exactly excited.

“Oh, you did a good job at things that I would not have believed if someone had told me before. Don’t worry, you’re great at that.”

Tony made a face but said nothing more about it and lead the talk to other topics.

In short he filled Rhodey in on the development with Ross. His friend knew that Tony’s decision to close the weapon manufactory had been harshly criticized, especially by the Secretary of Defense of the state New York.

“Pepper indicated that Ross tries to declare me insane and change the company into public ownership.” He grinned but Rhodey did not share his amusement.

“Thus you had to hurry with the happy family development or what?” he indicated to Peter with his fork.

Peter, although outwardly focused only on his meal, perked up his ears. Tony cleared his throat. This wasn’t something he’d like to discuss while the omega was around. He got up.

“I don’t know about you but I could use a drink now.”

They left the dining hall and entered a smaller room next door, where an English style bar was located next to a couple of wing chairs. Before Tony could put his plan that into practice though, Peter rushed forward. Without hesitation the boy chose one of the finely made bottles and started to pour drinks. Rhodey regarded Tony with a look and spoke from the corner of his mouth. “Is he even old enough to drink?”

But Peter did not intend to drink himself it seemed. He put two tumblers filled with amber liquid on a silver plate and served them to Tony and Rhodey. Tony pressed his lips together. To see Peter in full trained-omega-mode and ready to please gave him the creeps. He took a tumbler and spoke with an extra kind voice.

“Thank you Peter. That’s very attentive of you.” The boy looked at him from under his lashes and smiled his reticent smile.

 

***

 

Peter excused himself shortly after he had served the drinks. It wasn’t perfect since around guests an omega was expected to stay with his alpha until they were told to leave but it was highly inappropriate to sit with the men in the wing chairs like an equal. There had been no other seating for him and the alternative, to stand next to Mr. Starks chair like a servant, seemed to be no option at all. On top of that he felt insecure and self-conscious after the talk Mr. Stark had had with Mr. Rhodes during dinner. Peter had not understood the full meaning but somehow it seemed that Mr. Stark had been _forced_ to buy an omega. Against his wish.

His heart sank while he walked up the stairs. How was he supposed to sleep when he inwardly was caught in a turmoil of swirling thoughts and emotions? He stopped. Maybe he should fetch the book he had been working on during the afternoon. Mr. Stark had allowed that he may take books from the library to his room if he wanted to. Practicing his reading would surly tire him enough to find some sleep.

 

***

 

“I hope you know what you do.” Rhodey said, swirling the drink in his hand. “Buying an omega will not be enough to discourage Ross from trying to deprive you of the right of decision-making.”

“Pepper sees to that. She had a meeting with Fury first thing Monday morning, to discuss options if Ross will not let this go.”

“And the boy?”

“What about him?”

“Does he know? He expects to conceive your children or not?”

 “What does it matter?” Tony squirmed in his seat and didn’t look at his friend. Rhodey’s eyes grow big.

“What does it… Tony?! Omegas need to be bred. What will you do when he gets into heat and yearns for you, now that he has your scent-mark?!”

Tony’s face turned red. “That is unlikely. Peter never had a heat yet. I stumbled across an omega who will not have to mate periodically. Becoming engaged to Peter was a way to postpone the whole crap!” He got up and paced the small salon with angry strides. Rhodey watched him and gave him time to cool off.

“You need to tell him, Tony. Tell him that you do not want to mate him in the first place. And that you got him in order to keep the company in one piece. It is cruel to let him believe that he was brought here because you and Pepper wanted kids.”

Tony snorted. “Cruel? You haven’t seen this school Rhodey. You don’t know what his training was like. I bet everything that happens to him here is better than that.”

For once Rhodey’s shocked expression was nothing to amuse him.

 

***

 

Peter made no sound as he stepped back from the crack of the door. He had his hand pressed over his mouth to keep a sob from giving him away. He clutched the book he got from the library to his chest as if it could shield him from the truth he had overheard.

So, this was why Mr. Stark had chosen an omega who had never had his heat.

He was not willing to bred him, avoided bodily contact and thus choose an omega who was infertile.


	15. Clash

Tears filled Peters eye’s and he rubbed them away violently while he stepped back from the salon. He turned, the book still clutched to his chest tightly and ran up the stairs to his room. There he leaned on the closed door, the book forgotten in his hand. His eyes looked out into the darkness of the room without seeing anything.

Mr. Stark was kind to him. He wanted Peter to find a purpose in his life.

Obviously because raising kids would not be what he would do.

But that was fine. He was fine.

But why didn’t this stop the tears welling up in his eyes?

He tried desperately to ignore the feeling of hurt and rejection. It was like a hot storm inside him, burning him alive with shame and despair and other feelings he could not decipher.

‘How would you feel if Mr. Stark was an old, ugly lecher?! You wouldn’t shed a single tear over the fact that he isn’t interested in you. You’re not his wife or his friend. You’re his omega, his property to do with as he pleases!’ Peter scolded himself.

‘But… if that’s the case… why am I not able to stop crying?’ he asked in return and deep inside he knew the answer:

Raised in a cold and harsh environment, Peter’s soul had thirsted for kindness. There had been a huge space inside himself to be filled with affection and tenderness. A place for a person he could feel safe and cherished with. And Mr. Stark’s kindness – even if it was born from motives Peter did not understand anymore – had filled that space. Even if he knew him for such a short time, his heart was drawn to the alpha with the sad smile and the kind eyes who had given him so much he had not expected, and without anything in return. And Peter – assuming to be the bearer of his children – had opened his heart for those feelings, had let himself fall for that man that took him in. Even if their relationship would have been based on the physical aspect first, the alpha’s behavior had raised his hopes that there would be more. Could be more.

But that hopes were futile.

He sank onto the floor, unable to stop his tears from falling.

 

***

 

At breakfast Peter had been as quiet like he had been at dinner. To his own surprise Tony noticed. Normally people had to tell him explicitly that they were mad at him but Peters hunched shoulders and downward face told him clearly that he somehow had managed to fuck things up.

‘Maybe I see it because of the scent’ he thought. Peter smelled anxious and on the edge. That people felt like that around Tony was nothing new. There was no opportunity to speak to the boy though, because Rhodey was sitting across from him. He decided to postpone the matter. He was good in that.

After breakfast Rhodey followed Tony into the barn, though he had come the way from the cavalry base to have a look at Tony’s new project. From the moment they entered the workshop Rhodey’s eyes turned into saucers. The soldier walked around Tony’s current project and gaped like a child at a toy store.

“Tony, what the fuck…?!” he exclaimed without taking his eyes of the machine in front of him. The full body armor gleamed silver-ish in the lamp light.

‘Maybe I should varnish it. In red and gold. That would be awesome!’ Tony thought to himself.

Every part of the armor was perfect. A man of his stature could walk and even run in it – he had managed to make the joints flexible enough for natural movements.

“Glad you like it.” Tony hummed but could not swipe the smile of his face. He had worked on this particular thing for weeks now and it was almost finished. There was only the problem left with the…

“How the heck does it move?!”

The energy source. Yes. He cleared his throat.

“Well, yes, that is a problem I need to work on some more. I thought that maybe…” But Rhodey interrupted, now turning to Tony and regarding him with raised eyebrows.

“It seems to weigh a ton! Don’t tell me you want it to move with your solar generator. How big do you want to have the wings on that thing to supply it with enough energy.”

Tony pouted at him and turned to his workbench.

“For the record, it is only two-hundred pounds heavy. And I work on some things.” But Rhodey wasn’t finished with pointing out the flaws in Tony’s marvelous plan.

“I can totally see it run on steam. Ad a furnace on the back. You just need a sidecar where the stoker is able to store the coal.”

“Alright! I got ya! It isn’t working – yet!” He threw up his arms. “But I could make it work! If I just had a bigger energy source than steam and sunlight!” It was to go up the wall.

Rhodey looked at him with pity. He clapped his hand around Tony’s shoulder. “It’s a neat design man. Very sleek and elegant. It looks as if you could fly it – if such a thing were possible….” He regarded the iron suit again, this time with a more approving look.

“But why did you build it in the first place? I thought you’re done with weapons manufacturing.”

Tony scratched his head. “Guess what, I’m not entirely sure. Somehow it… felt right. And I think this could be very useful in case we need to defend ourselves. Alpha lead governments tend to go into war at the slightest reason. What if the state of Pennsylvania tries to play the change-the-border-game again? Don’t get me wrong: I do not want to make my money with weapons that get our people killed in the end. But I do see the necessity to keep our borders safe. And this suit… it is more a defense machine, you know.”

Rhodey nodded.

“Well. All you have to do is develop a self-sustaining reactor to supply the energy. Good luck with that.”

He grinned at Tony and earned a scowl from Tony.

“Oh com’on. You must be handled with kids gloves today. Usually you’re not so skittish and irritable.”

Tony sighed.

“Well… usually I’m not in the position to care for a young omega. He is… a hand full.”

Rhodey watched him with compassionate eyes, all the tease gone for once. Tony longed to unburden his heart to him, to someone who was not Pepper, who had a different point of view, closer to his own.

“Well… you know…” he began.

 

***

 

Peter walked around with a headache and a dizzy feeling the whole morning.

‘No wonder’ he thought to himself, when he got ready to get downstairs. He’d been crying the most part of the night until he had fallen asleep.

Peter saw Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Stark come back from the barn from the window of his bedroom and sighed. But there was no use in mulling over his situation. If he wanted to earn his place in this house, he needed to work for it. Peter pressed his lips together. He could not risk to annoy Mr. or Mrs. Stark. Only a small amount of omegas made it into a wealthy family – the students had been reminded of that often enough. Of course, being bought by a wealthy alpha wasn’t a guaranty for a happy life.

Usually the omega became part of the family through their children. Beta’s tended to be calm and patient people and omegas were trained to be obedient and helping, so in many cases the formed a facilitating coexistence around the alpha. Often, the omega stayed in the house and cared for the children until they were full-grown. After that, they usually had earned to stay in the house for the rest of their lives because then they had lived that long with the couple that it had become normality. Often the children viewed all three of them as their parents. That was what all omega’s in the school tried to achieve.

The biggest tread was the wife or husband of the alpha. If he or she saw a rival in the arriving omega it was possible that the partner made said omega’s life into a living hell. Or made the alpha sell the omega after they conceived enough children. To be taken into another family after that was almost impossible. The omega would be forced to spend the rest of his life in a shelter, something that Peter would prevent by all costs. Words about shelters were horrible…

So even though Peter didn’t fear Mrs. Stark anymore because she had been nice to him and all he still needed to earn his stay here.

Because Peter would never have children.

Mr. Stark just was not interested in him. Maybe despised him. If not personally, at least in regard of sex. And that left only one conclusion.

If Peter wanted to earn his place here, he needed to work for it.

He needed to be extra helpful and obedient. To stay out of trouble. To avoid to be a nuisance.

He could do that.

He pressed his lips together and left his room to find something to make himself useful.

Strange sensations made themselves known when Peter walked down the stairs. Since the last evening he felt like the turmoil inside of him was growing stronger and stronger, no matter how often he repeated the importance of being useful to himself. For the first time he was not utterly driven by fear or determination to make his alpha happy. What he now felt was odd and unfamiliar, a low burning in his guts and chest, as if something wanted out of him but couldn’t. He tried to leave this aching behind like he had anything else before, but it was persistent and put strange thoughts into his head.

Why did Mr. Stark bothered with educating him in the first place? Giving him the new room and all that? He could have let him rot in the attic room like he obviously had planned before. Why making Peter _like_ him?! It was just not fair! Peter had done anything in his possibility to please him! And he hadn’t had the guts to tell him to fuck of. Instead touched him, kissed him, made him want him!

Peter stilled.

Suddenly he knew what the strange sensation was, that burned in him like a stronger getting flame.

Anger!

He pressed his lips together.

That was not appropriate. An omega was not supposed to feel anger or wrath, especially not in regard to his alpha! But he couldn’t help himself. It consumed him! He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Useful. He had to be useful.

He took a couple of deep breaths until he thought he could keep his agitated feelings at bay and went into the salon.

Friday was about to prepare some tea for the two men on the patio. She always poured way too much for the cup to hold. Peter smiled at her and grabbed the finished tray from her hands. He would do it. He could do it. Be useful. Obedient. Safe.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to smile as he walked through the library like he had been trained.

‘No feelings, you’re an omega. Smile.’ He heard his teacher say as if she was standing next to him. His head spun. He reached the patio doors, that were ajar, listening distracted to Mr. Stark and his guest. Mr. Stark was talking like something had alienated him.

“… and I just can’t stand it! If he smells like that I want to run for the hills and never come back.”

 

***

 

A loud crash of porcelain and metal exploded next to Tony. He and Rhodey turned like thunderstruck and his first thought was that Friday had lost control of the tea tray. But it wasn’t Friday and it wasn’t an accident.

Peter stood in the doorway, white as a sheet of paper and trembling.

Tony first thought it was fear to be punished for his slip but the he saw it was… wrath!

Peter’s eyes where wide, his mouth open and Tony realized that the boy had heard his words. He suddenly felt cold.

Peter was enraged. He had smashed the full tray to the ground and watched them with so much emotion in his small body that Tony suspected him to explode every second. But his voice was surprisingly quiet.

“You don’t have too!” With that he turned on his heel and marched back where he had come from.

All Tony could do, was stand between the shards, his shoues getting drenched with tea and watch him go.

Rhodey whistled quietly through his teeth, indignant.   
“He has guts I gotta give him that” the lieutenant said and waited for Tony to respond.

Slowly the awareness what had happened trickled in and made Tony’s stomach drop. He didn’t want to hurt Peter! He just… The alpha put his face in his hands. How should he rectify this ass amount of shit, even for him this was a new high of fucking things up!

Happy jogged around the corner of the house.

“Erm, Mr. Stark, Sir... I don’t know if it’s important but maybe you wanna know… “ Tony and Rhodey tuned to the nervous driver who was sweating already.

“I was polishing the car near the front door and the kid stormed past me like his ass was on fire. Into the woods that is. I thought…” He didn’t finish whatever he was about to add because Tony was in front of him in seconds.

“What?! Where is he… WHAT?”

Happy just looked at his employer with huge eyes.

 

***

 

Peter just ran. His eyes were burning and his whole body felt like he was standing in flames.

‘He can’t stand me? Okay! He doesn’t need too! Never again!’

Thoughts like these swirled through his brain, tumbling over another while he blindly ran between the bare threes. Everything was grey and lifeless and he felt that inside him it should look like that too, but it was all consumed by the burning pain and anger he couldn’t contain any longer.

He ran and ran and ran until he wasn’t able to do one more step. His hands gripped a tree bark, the rough surface digging into his fingers, as he leaned on it, breathing hard and fast. He could not draw enough air! His heart was hammering like a machine gun and his lungs heaved while he tried to focus.

Why had he taken this direction? Where was he? He blinked to get rid of the sweat in his eyes and tried to see something between the greyish shadows around him. Something drew him here, something strong. Something dangerous.

“I knew you would come. I could smell it.”

The alpha from the village approached him with a smile and her scent filled his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O   
> Oh boi, oh boi...


	16. Fight

The silence of the small grove was deafening, nothing was audible than Peter’s heavy breathing and the quiet rustle of the leaves on the ground when he or the alpha woman moved.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” She smiled darkly and stepped closer. “I see that you still have no mark on you.” She inhaled and her smile grew broader. “Soon you will have mine…”

Peter watched her approach with huge eyes and a part of him screamed to run or bow low, flee or submit and obey. But another part… didn’t want to!

“No!” he shouted and that made her stop in her tracks for a moment. She raised her eyebrows, as surprised as Peter himself.

“No?” she asked, irritated. Then she shrugged and smiled again, as if to say that the omega had no real choice in this.

Peters hand spotted a branch. It wasn’t a large one but hard like a club. He gripped tight and raised it in order to defend himself.

“I tell you. Stay away from me…” he snapped, still not able to draw breath accordingly.

“Hush now” she tried to sooth him. “You’re agitated, I can see that. I can tell you why, honey. Nothing to worry about…”

To Peters relief she didn’t try to get closer.

“Why… why can’t you leave me alone. I don’t want that…” he panted, exhausted and feverish.

“Honey… you need me. You’re in _heat_.”

Peter stared at her.

The shock made him tremble.

No!

No no no. It wasn’t possible.

He never went into heat! Why should he now!

She sensed his inner turmoil and grinned in an almost compassionate way.

“I can smell it, honey. You’re so ripe, so ready to be taken.” She stretched out her hand. “Let me take you…”

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!” a voice from behind Peter rose and he turned his head for a second but tried to keep Josie in view. He felt faint. _In heat_.

Mr. Stark, followed by Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hogan ran his way, the alpha at the front, enraged. Peter had never seen him like this. His eyes were almost glowing and his lips pulled back in a snarl. The overwhelming pressure of his scent…

Peter raised his weapon in his direction, looking feverish from him to Josie and back to Mr. Stark. He would not let any of them near him right now.

“Stay away!” he cried, holding the branch ready.

Mr. Stark stopped dead.

“Peter…” he said rueful.

Peters heart hammered in his chest. A _heat_! He was in heat! That wasn’t possible. Why now? Why he? An omega whose Alpha didn’t want to _breed_ him.

He watched Mr. Stark approach and all the anger and wrath he had felt turned into… desire.

Oh he wanted him.

He wanted him so badly, it hurt.

His whole body hurt. Cramps started to shake him and he gasped for air. The branch fell out of his and. The last thing he knew was that Mr. Stark was at his side, kneeling on the leaves covered forest floor, staring at him with wide eyes.

Everything went black.

 

***

 

As soon as Happy had opened the door of the car Pepper rushed into the mansion. She established an overview on the situation and decided that she had to act quick. To the workshop barn then! She knew that this was the place to find Tony when he was stressed out and anxious. And if half of the things Happy had told her when he fetched her from the train station was true she was right to assume Tony’s stress level as gigantic. She thanked the gods that the door was not locked but considering Peter’s status it was no wonder. The omega was in no condition to go anywhere, let alone follow Tony. Poor thing!

 

Tony was bent over his working table, trying desperately to screw a something into a piece of tech that was unknown to her. And not of importance. She came to a halt in front of him.

“Tony, what are you doing?!”

“Hello to you to. I’m trying to fix this circuit board.” 

He didn’t look up but his hunched up shoulders told her that he knew what she was about to say.

“You know exactly that that is not what I meant! What are you going to do about Peter!”

Tony still didn’t look up but his knuckles turned white.

“Nothing. Waiting. I don’t know.”

“Tony…” her voice was pleading. “He is hurting. I don’t know what to do!”

“Do you think I know! Why am I supposed to know what to do?! Because I’m alpha!?”

“YES dammit!”

“No!”

She saw the blood pulsing in his neck, the sweat on his forehead, the feverish look in his eyes. He was as far gone as Peter, but still fighting. She tilted her head and looked at him with compassion.

“Tony…” she tried to reason with him, gesturing with her hands as if she was trying to grab something. “It’s not that difficult. He needs his alpha…” But Tony did not let her finish, he cut her off with a harsh gesture.

“Cut. It. Off! I will not go in there and… and… rape him while his body makes him enjoy it! I cannot… I will not do that!” He carded his hands through his hair and paced a few steps like a tiger in a cage.

Pepper regarded him with mixed feelings on her face. She knew Tony and that he felt raw and wounded because of the whole thing. But she had seen Peter and this was as serious as Tony’s worries.

“He is glowing Tony. And cramping. I think… he might die.”

Tony paced with even harsher steps.

“Omegas don’t die of heat! It will fade! Somehow!”

“But he is not an average omega. He never had a heat before. I know something about heats, the omega is not supposed to burn alive.” She took Tony’s hand, recognizing that he was shaking.

“Please Tony. He needs you.” She looked in his eyes which shone with unshed tears. Oh how much her love was hurting!

“But…”

“You will not need to breed him.”

“I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL MYSELF!” he shouted and snapped his hand away to pace a few steps before he turned around and looked hat her, furious. “That’s the problem, Pepper! I will fuck him and he will like it and afterwards…!”

“No!”

Tony blinked. Pepper did not use this kind of voice very often but when she did he came to a halt. This voice and the matching expression in her face brought most alphas to heel. Dominance. And it worked this time too. She regarded him with a burning stare, her body taught like a steel bar.

“You will _not_. I guarantee!”

Tony gulped.

 

***  


Peter’s body burned. The passion and arousal was long gone and had been replaced by the horrifying feeling that his blood was on fire. It burned in every vein, everywhere in his body. He could not draw breath without his lungs hurting. His heart raced in his chest and he imagined it burning through his chest to get free. Between his legs the burn was the strongest, as if he was forced to sit on a heating plate. Tears streamed down his face because it hurt. It hurt so much.

He rolled on his back because the hurt was so strong but when his oversensitive skin touched the sheets his back arched out of pain. A long wail tore from his tortured body while his fingers clawed at the sheets. He was naked because he could not bear a single thread of fabric on his skin but even the sheets rubbed and chafed and _hurt_!

His conscious mind had left him hours ago, leaving a sobbing, hurting, needy mess behind. All he could think of was the pain and the abandonment. He was abandoned. His mate had left him here to die. Violent sobs escaped his lips. The knowledge that he was not desired was almost stronger than the pain, ripping his self apart. It would be a relieve to die.

‘Please… let me die…’ It was not a conscious thought, more a prayer his heart was repeating without end.

And then…

… it was over.

Suddenly it was there! The scent of his mate! He was there! A hand touched his cheek, cool and soft.

Peter wasn’t able to clear his vision, everything was blurred but he was drawn to the source of that scent like a flower to the sun. He whined and tried to push his hurting body nearer. Skin touched his and everywhere it cooled him like a balm. The wonderful scent surrounded him, grounded him.

He was not abandoned.

His mate was there.

He felt strong arms around him, felt safe in the embrace. His face touched the neck of his mate where his scent was the strongest. Peter opened his mouth and devoured the place with his tongue. He felt his mate licking and lapping on his own neck. Oh what a relief!

The pain and torture lessened drastically, leaving the burn of passion behind. He moaned against the heated flesh. His mate was there. He would take him. Peter moaned again and rubbed his body on the naked form next to him. He arched his back and tried to stay in as much contact with his mate as possible.

Then… he was entered, filled.

A scream of pure animalistic lust tore from his lips when his needy hole was finally filled. Peter came on the spot, shivering and gasping, mouthing on the neck of his alpha, his whole body trembling with the relief of his first orgasm.

The heat built again directly after that, but Peters mind cleared a bit. Mr. Stark… he was there, in front of him, kissing him, touching him, moaning with him. Peter wanted to melt against him and become one.

There was another scent with him, vaguely familiar and somehow calming. Soon such thoughts were swapped away by the rising lust. He was more coherent now, able to seek his mate’s lips. His alphas beard scratched over his chin while their tongues touched. Peter tasted his alphas mouth and moaned softly while he rode him.  He was all feelings. Hands on his body, lips on his neck, the delicious fill inside him, pushing in and out, the scent surrounding him, holding him, grounding him while his body burned to the ground.

 

***

 

Pepper left the bedroom silently and after one last look at the exhausted pair on the bed she closed the door behind her. Tony and Peter were still entangled into the other, their limps slack from exhaustion, both of them more unconscious than sleeping. She smiled to herself. Pepper too needed a break, now that it was over.

Not for long though. She knew her husband well enough that she would wake him soon to leave Peter’s bed. Tony would not want to wake naked, next to a conscious omega, facing the necessary talk in the same sheets they had successfully crumbled together for hours. She shook her head. Best to put Peter into another bed too since the one he was actually lying in was more than wasted.

And they would need to undo the cage.

Even if the metal construction had prevented Tony from getting hard he had come two times and spilled all over his own crotch. Pepper had seen to it that nothing of it got near Peter’s private parts.

The boy had been so far gone that he didn’t even recognize that Tony had just held and kissed and caressed him but that he was filled by Pepper’s strap on. Holy God, alphas and omegas! She put the device into the sink of her own bathroom to clean it. It was an inconspicuous thing, only a cob with a garter belt to fix in on her hip. Pepper and Tony had used it a couple of times since Tony wasn’t averse to play the bottom in bed and since Pepper had to hold alphas down at work she started to enjoy the power.

While she used a mild soap to clean the strap on she thought about Peter. The omega was the cut out of a needy bottom but that was when he was in heat. Maybe he would find other sides in himself too, as she did. Pepper smiled again. That would definitive become a surprise for Tony.

The cage had been nice too, she thought. Tony could call himself lucky to have such an proactive wife because she had bought it on her last stay in New York. As if she had known that they would need it soon. It had helped Tony to maintain his integrity while becoming absolutely wasted during Peter’s heat. She bit her lip and smiled. Maybe they would use the thing again in a more conscious state…

It had been hot though, the heat, even if her beta-self had been shocked by how long the other two had been on it. Like people possessed. After her hips had gone tired she had used her hand to fill Peter and she would never forget how the small omega had taken her whole.

Pepper poured herself a glass of water. Hopefully she had not hurt him. But it had not seemed like that. Peters arching back, his high pitched scream of pure unfiltered lust had indicated the opposite in fact. She shivered in a pleasant way. It would be interesting how this relationship would develop further, but Pepper was sure that the three of them could make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, has this been a surprise? Let me know :3


	17. Consolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that I haven't answered all comments to the last two chapters D: Work has been extremely busy and I had no time at all. Please be assured that I love and cherish every comment and am so happy when you express what you liked. Thank you! :3

Milky light filtered through the curtains crack. Peter blinked slowly. His mind was foggy. He moved an inch and stopped, moaning softly. He felt raw. Between his legs was an unknown numbness, his legs and arms felt like stone, his mouth dry. He blinked again. He was surrounded by an unfamiliar but wonderful scent. No, not unfamiliar. But not usually part of his room and his bed.

Mr. Stark’s scent.

But not only his. Peter eyed the pillow next to his resting head groggily. Then he ripped open his eyes. Mrs. Stark!

He sat up straight. He was in Mr. and Mrs. Stars room. In their bed!

He wore a clean night shirt and felt surprisingly fresh – no sweat on him – but he wasn’t in his own bed. What had happened?!

His eyes fell on Mr. Stark who sat on a chair next to the window, a closed book in hand, regarding him with a strange expression. Was he angry? Peter’s face heated up and he looked down, his hands gripping together in his lap. Mr. Stark and he had… but Mr. Stark had not wanted to… Peter felt his stomach go tight.

“Peter…“ Mr. Stark’s voice sounded rough, strained. Peter hunched his shoulders and pressed his lips together. ‘Please don’t kick me out, please don’t kick me out, please…’

“How… how are you feeling?” Peter looked up at that question, his insecurity written all over his face. What was the right answer? He didn’t know. He had the urge to throw up, so tedious were his guts. He regarded Mr. Stark with pleading eyes but said nothing.

Mr. Stark’s face scrunched up and Peter felt himself starting to shake. ‘Please… please… please’ he begged in his mind. Tears gathered in his eyes.

Mr. Stark rose from his chair. He looked pained.

“You are not… we… I have not bred you.” He said, obviously stressed. Peter looked at him, trying to comprehend what had been said. He had _not_ … But he felt it! He was sore between his legs and his heat was gone and he remembered Mr. Stark there with him, holding him. What was that supposed to think!? What was going on?! A tear slipped down his cheek. Mr. Stark was pale and seemed upset. He had not bred him. Peters heart fell through a hole inside his chest.

“I’m sorry.” He rasped, the only thing he could think of. What else was there to say? Mr. Stark would send him away, he would need to find a place in a shelter, he would never see him again, he…

The door opened and Peter expected Friday with a bag or something – that was if he was allowed to take a couple of things with him. But instead of the robot Mrs. Stark stepped in.

Peter’s heart stopped. He was in her bed after Mr. Stark and he had worked out his heat. He gasped for air and scrambled to leave the bed before she could make him. Fear held his whole body in a cage while he tried to bring his exhausted body to obey him.

“What is going on here?!”

She sounded mad. Peter reached the edge of the mattress when he heard her coming closer. His heart leaped in his chest out of fear. She would hurt him! Maybe he could be happy if the couple just decided to throw him out! His hand slipped and he was not able to catch himself, his body was too weak. With a loud thud he rumpled to the floor.

”Peter!” With a scream Mrs. Stark was there, kneeling next to him, grapping his shoulders.

“’m sorry… m so sorry misses.” He stammered, unable to contain his tears any longer. They streamed over his face and blurred his vision of the person in front of him.

“What have you done to him?!” she asked with an angry voice and Peter did not know how to answer, he just kept apologizing, his mind a blur of fear and hopelessness.

Then he was pressed to a warm chest, caged in a strong embrace.

He blinked, his eyes burning with tears.

Mrs. Stark held him. Her hand caressed his hair. Her voice had changed to a soothing tone, murmuring to him.

“Hush Peter, you did nothing wrong. Everything is okay. You don’t need to freak out, everything is fine…”

He gulped down air, inhaling her calm and fresh beta scent while the tears streamed out of him. Without knowing what he did he grabbed her tight, returned the embrace, cling to her and cried like he had never done before in his life. It was as if his whole self, that had been contained and caged since he was eleven, poured out in her arms. Pain and fear slowly changed to relieve and that brought even more tears but she held him through it until all that was left was a small hiccup.

Peter opened his eyes. Pepper regarded him with a slight smile. He recognized that Mr. Stark was there to, kneeling next to them, embracing him too and stroking Peter’s back. Mr. Stark’s face was scrunched up but now Peter recognized that the man was not angry or upset. He was sad.

Peter looked at him and without knowing what he was doing he reached out and touched Mr. Starks cheek. The alpha nestled his face into Peter’s touch and closed his eyes. Peter wondered if it ever had had such a situation – three humans on the bedroom floor, consoling each other like that. But it didn’t matter. There was no place on earth he would rather have been this very second.

 

***

 

Peter sat in the bed, eating a light soup Friday had brought him and thought about his situation. Mr. and Mrs. Stark had ensured him, that everything was fine. He was not to be kicked out, he was welcome and they would discuss the next steps when he was feeling more well and not so exhausted anymore.

While eating he tentatively touched the mark on his neck. Mr. Stark had marked him, the area was tender and slightly swollen and Peter knew that his scent was different now until his next heat. He was no longer a bride, he was _taken_.

He had not understood what the couple tried to explain to him but that was because of the exhaustion. Mrs. Stark told him that she would explain it again. Somehow he had not been bred. He was not pregnant. But that was okay. He would stay with Mr. and Mrs. Stark and that was what counted.

He finished his soup and closed his eyes, somehow a feeling deep inside that all would be well in the end. With that he fell asleep again.

 

***

Bruce Banner left the omega’s room and followed Tony to the library, where Pepper was already waiting.

“He seems fine. No injuries, just exhaustion.” He explained and took of his glasses to clean them on his shirt. Tony nodded, relieved. Pepper smiled at them both, closing the newspaper she had been reading. Tony and Bruce took a seat next to her on the cozy armchair and helped themselves to some tea. Tony cleared his throat.

“But how comes that he never had been in heat before? Isn’t that something that should happen? How will that affect his health in the future?” It was obvious that he was worried and Pepper took his hand to sooth him. Bruce took a sip of his tea, burnt his tongue and hissed.

“Well… I don’t know for sure since we have almost no data on omegas and their heats. Since they are locked away most of their life there is not much known on what is common and normal and what not.”

Tony looked at him with big eyes.

“But… omegas are essential for the society. If there is no omega, there is no child and humanity will vanish. Why the heck don’t we researched the shit out of every aspect that is there to know!” he became more and more angry but Bruce was not the addressee of his anger. Nevertheless, the shy beta flinched a bit from the alphas wrath.

“I don’t know. Maybe the government does. But… they are more concerned with territories and such.”

Tony seethed a bit longer but quiet this time and Pepper took charge of the talk with Bruce.

“Peter’s heat evolved pretty fast. He lives here for two weeks now and if I’m not mistaken his heat started at the end of his first week.”

Bruce nodded. “My theory is…” he looked at Tony as if he was scared how the other would react but Tony nodded coolly and Bruce continued. “My theory is that Peter never had a heat because there was no mate. He has been educated in an environment surrounded by other omegas and betas only, right?” The couple in front of him nodded. “Well, we know from animals who life in cramped spaces that a high amount of the child bearing ones don’t get into heat if there’re no or too less compatible mates. Like… if all of them would fall into heat, not all would be mated. And this could destroy the social structure. So biology prevents that. But if the population becomes smaller, more get into heat because the chance to be mated rises.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“So what you say is that Peter just… postponed his heat somehow? Until he was close to a compatible mate? Any alpha?” Pepper leaned in closer.

“Well first of all, that is not a conscious decision were talking about. Omegas do not choose to get into heat or not, as alphas do not choose to response in a certain way. And the fact that Peter went into heat so fast speaks for the close fit with his new mate.” He looked at Tony. “He likes you, is what I’m try to say.”

Tony felt his cheeks heating up. Pepper chuckled next him.

 

***

The next day Peter felt much better. They had transferred him to his own bed but Tony as well as Pepper visited him to check in on him and spend some time.

At the moment Pepper sat at his bedside and watched Peter eating.   
“Tomorrow you’ll be strong enough to come down. We shall speak about the next steps I think.” She said and smiled at the omega. Peter swallowed his mouth full of food.

“Steps? What do you mean, M… Pepper?” he asked and could not prevent of becoming a bit flustered by calling her by her first name.

“Well, Tony and I discussed it and he is the opinion of that you should take lessons in self-defense. And I’m with him in that matter.”

“Self… defense?” Peter was at a loss and a bit frightened. How had that come up? He as an omega should learn to fight in order to prevent other from… what? His hands gripped the bedsheets over his legs and worried the fabric while tried to make sense of what had been said. The concept was so strange and foreign that Peter wasn’t able to grasp it. To look after him was the duty of his alpha. The omega was supposed to be soft and weak.

Pepper watched him closely but said no more. She was aware that they needed to approach such topics slowly and in small steps since Peter was educated in a completely different way. To force him into things he was not ready for would have the opposite effect than intended, not making him stronger and independent, but weaker in fact. She smiled reassuringly.

“You already defended yourself. Against Josephine in the grove. Do you remember that?” she took his hand and stroked it softly. Peter nodded but his hesitance was obvious.

“I do… a little. But that was not me. I was… so angry. And that was due to the heat…”

Pepper said nothing to that. Peter needed time to find out how strong he truly was. Tony had told her that the small boy had defied the strange alpha as much as he had held Tony at bay.

‘Maybe that’s the reason omegas are brought up in those damn schools. To brainwash them into compliant things because they would otherwise outrank every alpha with their strong will and fierceness’ Pepper thought to herself and continued stroking Peter’s hand since that seemed to help him stay grounded.

Peter seemed to nibble on a different thought. He watched the tray in his lap with the empty plate and bit his lip nervously. Pepper squeezed the hand in her palm softly and made him look at her again.

“What is it?” she asked friendly.

“I…” Peter started and ducked his head instantly. But nevertheless, he pushed through and continued. “I will get into heat soon again. To… keep the mating bond alive…” he murmured embarrassed. Pepper nodded along, her smile not wavering a second. Peter looked up, straight in her face.

“Do you even _want_ kids?” he blurted out and shut his mouth afterwards as if he had overstepped.

Pepper’s smile grew and she felt her own cheeks becoming flushed.

“Yes, Peter. I can speak for myself with certainty and I think Tony will want them too. With _you_ that is.” She assumed that this was what made Peter nervous but he seemed even more agitated than before. He lowered his head and fell silent and Pepper feared he might start to cry. She leaned in, putting her arm around his shoulders, watching him with growing worry.

“You do not want that?” she asked softly but was silenced by Peter, who shook his head violently.

“No, I want them. I would love to see Mr. Starks children grow. But…”

“But what?”

Peter looked up, his big eyes full of fear and worry.

“What if they become omega?”

It clicked into place. Pepper took a deep breath when she understood. If one of Peter’s children would become an omega he or she would be taken away at the age of eleven to never see their parents again. To be locked away in a school in order to become ‘engaged’ to an alpha who bought them. Or not, if they were unlucky. In that case they would be brought to a shelter to be forced to do their ‘duty’ for the land and its people. Pepper felt cold, hugging Peter, who had started to cry. Her voice was strained when she tried to console him without knowing what to say.

“If they become omega… we will love them and care for them and try to protect them as best as we could.”

“No we won’t!”

Both, Pepper and Peter looked up in shock, staring at Tony with wide eyes, who had stepped in and stood by the door, watching the couple on the bed with determination in his eyes. His face was set and Pepper saw that something had changed. The man by the door was not her husband in this very second, it was a full-fledged alpha, ready to do what was necessary. Whatever that may be.


	18. Awareness

Four month later.

Peter walked through the late snow from the patio to the workshop, whipping his sweaty face with a towel, his breath fogging in the cold air. He felt awful and good at the same time. Today he had taken a couple of hard hits but had not wavered under Happy’s onslaught and even got some good punched in himself. His left ribcage felt sore and his arms heavy but in some strange kind of way the boxing relieved him somehow. One could let out way more steam whit boxing than with cleaning. And Peter felt that his muscles had grown which made him more durable, flexible and somewhat more confident. He wasn’t so afraid anymore, even if Happy came onto him with all he had.

The driver had not said it out loud, but it had been apparent that he was impressed with Peter’s progress. The first lessons in boxing had been more like getting Peter to the point where he dared to get his fists up to defend himself, let alone trying to hit his opponent. The submission and defenselessness was so much drilled into him that he needed time to unlearn that behavior. Small steps.

But since he was on this way, Peter felt so much more free, as if a tight cage around his body had been lifted and he was able to move freely for the first time in his life. And all of that because of one man.

Tony.

His Tony.

Peter giggled involuntarily at this ridiculous thought. But Tony had insisted.

 

“If you don’t start to call me Tony I will give you no more smooches.” Peter grinned at that memory. Who would have guessed that? And ‘smooches’ was what he wanted so badly, so calling Tony with his first name was necessary. Very much so.

After the talk regarding kids Tony had stated that he wanted a bodily relationship with Peter but that he needed to take it slow.

“I will not be able to jump you. I want to get to know your body and what you like first. And what _I_ like in that regard.

And so they started trying things out. Small steps.

Peter still got red when he thought about it. ‘Smooches’ where only the beginning. He had never expected what Tony’s lips and tongue could do on other parts of his body.

So, in order to keep that, he had to unlearn the respect and bowing for his alpha. Calling him Tony, even in his mind, was a start. Seeing him for the person he was, flawed and friendly and a bit odd sometimes, was the next step. The more Peter learned about Tony the more he loved him. But the more became aware who he himself was too. Not just a shy and helpless omega. He was Peter. And he slowly found out what he liked and what not.

With Pepper it was easier. She was open and clear, talking about her feelings and how she saw Peter and his development. When he was around, Peter felt at ease and he enjoyed spending time with her. Even the intimacies with her were easier since they were not influenced by those primal urges and mindless needs he encountered when it came to Tony. With Pepper it was exploring and laughing and caressing and talking and reflecting – she even had the same set of private parts and he learned a lot about what could be fun and hot regarding that.

All three of them decided together that they would not play with each other in a threesome until Peters next heat came up. Before they took that step, all of them needed to become more of a family, to prevent bad feelings while Tony still felt insecure and Peter obligated to please.

And a couple of weeks ago the time had come. The next heat.

Peter had been much more aware this time since he was aware what the strange feelings within him could mean and communicated that as soon as he suspected what was happening. The three of them had started early to bring down his heat. This time he was conscious and experienced closely how hot Tony was for him when he was like this.

They still used the cage since Tony refused to bred Peter right now – he wanted to solve the main issue first he stated and was not available for any kind of discussion – and somehow it had been very hot this way. Pepper was with them to play the necessary pat and with that Peter felt more safe and cared for during his heat than he had ever expected.

After this second heat had ended the three of them were even more close than before. Peter moved in into the master bedroom and soon his sweet scent was part of the olfactory overall impression.

Peter still became a bit flustered when he thought about all that. His life was more than perfect. And when Tony was giving his consent, his next heat would become a breeding.

 

Peter arrived at the barn. Tony had told him to stop by after his training. Hopefully it would not take too long since Peter wanted to shower and get changed before the colonel would arrive in the afternoon. Rhodey would stop by and stay until the weekend to have a talk with Tony, but even more so to show Peter some moves in regard to his self-defense. He had been present when Peter had held Josephine back with nothing more than a stick and afterwards proclaimed that this natural talent in using weapons needed to be maintained and build up. Peter was a bit hesitant at first, but his boxing lessons had helped him to gain more confidence. When he managed to do this, he could accomplish more advanced techniques too!

But the growing confidence was not only noticeable in regard to the violability of his body. He even tried to mimic Pepper from time to time when she had one of her strict moments.

“It’s all about stance and voice, darling” she had told him and winked. “Most alphas aren’t bad people. They’re just used to the fact that everybody bows and cows to them. Stop doing it and they get confused and don’t know what to do.”

Peter listened closely and she promised to take him to Stark Industries when he would accompany her to the city one day. Peter wasn’t sure if he ever would be ready for that, to be in the big city with all those dangers and traps, but she had only smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

Mary came to visit often to talk with Peter or show him around. She was more than happy to discover that her friend had become part of the Stark-household finally and seemed to be happy and cared for. With her, he could talk about his growing feelings for the couple he lived with and how strange it was at first to feel so immensely for two persons at the same time.

It wasn’t the same, of course not, Tony was his alpha and he was drawn to him on a level deep within him, an urge to be close and please him, no matter what. With Pepper it was more light hearted but not less close, he would have done everything for her. Mary smiled at him and responded that he should stop worrying his head and just be happy that he had gotten the double package.

*

Peter pushed the door to the barn open. His eyes fell on the iron armor, the project Tony had worked on for so long and suddenly stopped without ever touching it again. It still remained in the workshop barn though, hollow and still, the hole in the chest plate empty.

Tony had started another project after the encounter in the grove and had worked on it like possessed. Neither Pepper nor Peter had been allowed to have a look and he had not talked about it, just sat around at dinner and breakfast, deep in thoughts, calculating, measuring and planning, only half of his mind in the present time. Pepper had reassured Peter that this was kind of normal and would last until the planning phase of the actual project was done.

During one week the alpha spent almost every night in the barn, the light glowing through the night. Peter fell back into old fears, that he had upset the man, that Tony was fleeing him and wanted to abandon him and he didn’t know what to do. This suddenly ended when Pepper arrived for the weekend and decided that enough was enough. She marched to the barn, Peter trailing behind, and ordered a zombie-like Tony to wash and eat and sleep in his bed. He did and slept for fourteen hours straight just to move back to his workshop afterwards. Pepper shrugged her shoulders and told Peter that this was pretty common too.

 

“Tony?” Peter called. Because he was not allowed near the new project he was hesitant to move deeper into the barn and stayed close to the door.

“I’m here, honey. Come close, I want to show you something.”

Peter felt excitement grow in him at the words. Was Tony finally able to present his work? Peter bit his lip and followed the voice, encountering Tony behind a screen. The man turned to him and smiled open and proud, beckoning him closer. Peter followed and Tony embraced him from behind, resting his chin on Peter’s shoulder, his lips next to the mark he had renewed during the last heat. He kissed the place tenderly and Peter shivered in a pleasant way.

“What is it?” he asked curiously, watching the … _thing_ Tony had been working on. It was a dummy, a small and delicate frame, covered in a … suit. Kind of. The fabric was thin and hugged the figure tightly, like a second skin. It was silvery and still seemed like a piece of clothing. An odd one, because it had gloves and socks attached. The clothing would cover the whole body of the person who wore it, up to the chin. Even the neck would be hidden underneath.

“Maybe you should add a hood” Peter said in a joking tone, unsure what Tony expected. He put his fingers on the man’s hands around his waist softly to show that he meant no harm with his words. But Tony surprised him even further.

“There is one. Designed to filter scents and protect the head.”

Peter turned his head as best as it was possible with Tony leaning on him so close.

“Wh… why? Tony, what is this?

“It’s an omega suit.” Tony said without elaborating further, just grinning at him as if he had gotten an early birthday gift. Peter raised one eyebrow. Had the alpha finally gotten mad? What in God’s name was an omega suit?

“It’s for protection.” Tony added and stepped around Peter to show the suits specialties. “The fabric is made from minute metal plates, light and flexible to allow all kind of movements. But if a hit is thrown at it, it disperses the impact over the whole piece and thus weakens it. I want you to wear it when you fight against Happy to see if it works. It should help you to hold your stance even against much stronger opponents.” Tony watched his creation and wasn’t aware of Peter’s alienated look.

“Why?!” he pushed out, the blood in his ears ringing. Was Tony indicating what he thought he was?! Tony’s eyes fell on him and Peter saw that the other was completely earnest.

“Like I said. Protection. The suit is designed to keep the scent at bay. The skin is able to breathe but if I made no mistake there will be only a small trace of scent left.” He pointed at the neck area. “Same goes for the mask. It filters the air to prevent the wearer to be influenced by scents. You could call it beta suit, now that I think about it, since the bearer will basically become beta. But stronger.” He scratched his head.

“But… Tony, why did you built it?” Peter asked, his eyes fixed on the man next to him. Tony sighed and parted from Peter slowly. He stepped to his working bench where he had the mentioned hood, taking it in hand and tracing his fingers over the light fabric.

“All my life I thought about ways to protect. I made weapons and shields and nothing was protected. Then in tried to better the living conditions. And learned that I left a big part of the population out because they are locked away and will never participate in anything. No matter what I invent or create I will not be able to protect our children or better their living conditions. Not when they are omega.”

Peter swallowed and looked down, gripping his hands tightly. Tony was right and he knew that this was one of the reasons why he had not bred him jet. But Tony continued.

“I will not accept that. I can’t.” He put the hood down and stepped close again to tilt Peter’s head up. Peter looked into his warm brown eyes.

“I will not accept that omegas have to live like this and I will do everything that is in my power to change what is necessary.” Peter felt his eyes fill with tears, but not from fear or worry. His lips curled in a slight smile. When Tony was like this, he could almost believe that everything was possible.

“The plans I made need time to develop. This will not be an overnight thing to accomplish. But the omegas need to be out of the schools and shelters. And when this happens, most of them will be defenseless. So I build something to protect them” Peter watched him and the more Tony spoke the more restless he grew and he wasn’t sure if he liked what he was listening to.

“Submission is a huge part of an omega’s education and even if not… the scent of an alpha can make on weak.” Tony explained and was oblivious to Peter’s growing unease. “But not with this suit. It’s flexible enough to be worn under the clothes, light and breathable but strong and strengthening at the same time and-“ He stopped. His eyes lay on Peter who had his shoulders hunched up and his fingers intertwined so strongly that his knuckles turned white.

“Hey… honey, what is it?” Tony murmured and came near, touching Peter’s shoulder softly.

“What you plan… this is… revolution. But do you know what you do? To free omegas of schools and shelters? To make them stand on their own feet with those… suits?” Peter trembled and Tony noted that he had ignited an inner turmoil unknown extend. He tried to look in Peter’s eyes and thus bowed low, trying to catch his view.

“Yes. What is wrong with that?” he asked friendly and tried his best to grasp what Peter’s problem was.

“What if… what if this is against the laws of nature?! What if the things are like that because they have to be? Wat if the omegas don’t want to be free?! And what is freedom? To be alone and with nobody who cares for you?” Peter stepped back and suddenly felt anger bursting out of him.

“You decide what is right and which way we should live! That we can not be weak and soft, that we need to be strong and fighting and disobeying! Because you’re alpha and that’s what alphas do! But I’m not! And I don’t want to do what is expected of me anymore! I just want to be myself and be done with it and not forced into a revolution between alphas and omegas where so many people will suffer!” The last part he almost shouted. Tony looked at him with big eyes.

Then the alpha smiled. His smile was soft and full of adoration. Peter looked at him as if he had gone mad but Tony continue to smile happy and satisfied.

“You’re right, honey. You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry for rushing into things I don’t know from my own experience.” He took Peter’s hands in his hand caressed them with his thumbs. Peter felt his anger fade but before he could become anxious because of his outburst Tony kissed him softly on the lips.

“I will not make the same mistake again and decide for you and other omegas what is right. We will ask them themselves. And work together. And develop different possibilities so that omegas can choose which way to live is best for them and to do so without being assaulted or found with fault.”

Peter smiled.

“And to do so, we need not only to change the omegas.”

Tony nodded.

“No. The world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for staying with me. <3 I hope you had nice and stressfree holidays (if you celebrated this kind of stuff) and look forward to a happy new year (if it is new year for you soon)!


	19. Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're there... this is it.

Peter splashed water onto his face and enjoyed the coolness. He took a deep breath and regarded himself in the mirror. His face was pale, but his eyes shone.

Who would have guessed that he would be standing here one day? He would not have believed it, if someone had told him. Nothing of it. All the good things that happened because Tony chose him on a whim, that day, in the early autumn.

His stomach cramped when he thought what he was about to do and he splashed some more water to dissolve the thought.

His mind wandered to the meeting with Dr. Banner the other day. He liked the shy beta who was always concerned for others and only truly relaxed while doing his research. Pepper told him that Dr. Banner could become a true berserk if someone caught him on the wrong foot, but with Peter he always had been kind and friendly.

Dr. Banner was the new head of the Omega Foundation, an institution Tony and Pepper had founded together with some other investors who shared their vision. As soon as a capable candidate was found, Dr. Banner would be accompanied by an omega to lead the foundation. No significant step would be made without taking an omega’s view into consideration. It was laid down in the statues that for every major decision different opinions must be heard in order to prevent some alpha to rush forward.

Main goal of the foundation was to fund and develop research on social aspects of alpha-beta-omega lives, behavioral patterns, meaning and role of scent and instinct and many other aspects. The foundation however, would only provide the needed money, the research was done by small groups of researchers, who proposed with research ideas. And the money would go to groups who could provide a mixed team. There was no better way to make alphas wish to educate omegas if omega researchers were needed to get the highest funding. That of course, was something for the future.

Peter had been asked to be the second head of the foundation but he had refused. He had other things on his mind and he could do more for his case without occupying the only omega position available at present. He didn’t want to become the showcase model that helped in keeping the status quo. Tony and Pepper had agreed and contacted schools and shelters to find candidates. Tony even thought about funding a school but Peter had intervened.

“We need to educate alphas and betas first. There will be no change if all of it is weighing on the shoulders of omegas. This is something that society must accomplish together.” Peter had said with a firm voice and both of his partners had nodded along.

This was what he was about to do. First steps in educating alphas and betas.

Pepper had suggested to start in colleges where betas were allowed. The best universities enrolled only alphas and those were closed circles, most of the students from old, rich families, who had no urge to work on changing the life of others. But the other, smaller education institutions were used to more diversity.

‘Not every alpha comes from a rich family. And not every beta is inclined to step aside and be quiet any longer.’ She had said and this the decision where to start, was made.

Peter felt like he was about to throw up.

 

***

 

Tony finished his opening and smiled warmly at the gathered young people in front of him. Most of them were in the first or second semester at New York State University and one third were betas. He had informed them about the foundation and what they were going to do. About the fact that even undergraduate students could apply for a research grant and scholarships if they did research on social aspects of society. He had not gotten into much detail in order to not mess up the big surprise.

All of the attendees sat during his short speech and listened closely and silently – Tony was alpha after all and rich on top of that. All of them had been educated to listen to the likes of his, even if all that was said would have been bullshit. And some of them would think that of him when he unleashed the news. From the corner of his eyes he saw the main speaker approach the stage.

“Let me introduce you to someone, who is way better suited to explain the details of the foundation and its goals to you.” he stated with a grand gesture and raised his voice. “Peter Parker!”

To the sound of polite, but irritated clapping Peter walked on the stage. Tony could see how nervous and timid he was, his small frame tense and his brown eyes full of worry. But nevertheless, his steps were even and his back straight when he arrived at the lectern. He looked around. Tony caught his eyes for a second and smiled reassuringly. The first rows of spectators became irritated and low murmur started to spread.

When they had planned the speech, Tony had asked him if he wanted to wear the omega suit under his clothes to prevent the attending alphas from smelling him, but Peter had refused.

“This is what this is all about, Tony. They shall listen to me, if I’m beta or omega or alpha, just because I have something to say.”

Tony had nodded and kissed him, his fierce and smart little omega. And now he watched him pushing through his fear and anxiety to speak to this crowd of people where the most of them regarded him as someone inferior.

“Good evening ladies, gentleman and gender-neutral people.” Peter started. The murmur grew louder and Peter’s cheeks heated up, but he continued. He spoke about society, while the scent impression that became evident to more and more of the spectators, confirming that he was omega. He explained that scent and instinct wasn’t something unalterable and even if the life of people was influenced by that, it held no power over the free will of a person. He explained that alphas were not made to rule in a modern society and that it was unfair to them to expect every single decision to be made by them.

Groups of alphas stood up and left the room, being very vocal about what they thought about Peter’s ideas. But he continued. Telling the students that betas were not ‘made’ to do all the work but had their own agendas and could contribute to the leadership in more ways than just writing down what alphas had to say.

More people left their seats and the it was hard for Peter to be heard. Tony suspected that he himself would be shouting by now, raging against the stupid people in front of him, trying to make them see reason. But not Peter. He pressed on, moving a bit nearer to the microphone in order to make his voice more audible over the hustle and bustle of the leaving people, but his voice stayed calm and somewhat friendly, even if he made clear that he was serious in what he was saying.

He ended his speech with the role of omegas and that in fact they were giving birth to the children, but that this was not synonymous with helplessness. That they actually had the role of slaves. That schools enforced obedience and submission and that this was not necessarily part of an omegas character. That even if an omega wanted to follow the lead of an alpha, they had basic rights and needed to be able to pursue them.

The remaining people became silent. Peter paused for a moment. Then he spoke about the fact that almost nothing was known on the upbringing of omegas. Schools and shelters were closed of areas where none had insights except the people working and living there. He explained that some omegas didn’t go into heat because of their life with no potential mate and that this could affect the existence of the society on the whole. That there had to be research and development to find new ways to live together and develop society on the whole for the benefit of all people.

He ended. Only a small percentage of the attendees had remained in the room, sitting on their chairs with a confused and timid expression. But Tony noticed that those who were still here, were not only betas. Some alphas, who looked around intimidated, had stayed too. Something in Peter’s speech had reached them.

‘Maybe you’re like me, poor sods who have enough trouble to deal with themselves and hate the idea to be responsible for the whole world’ he thought to himself and smiled, crossing his arms at the side of the stage. Small steps.

“Are there some questions?” Peter asked and only Tony was able to detect how exhausted he was.

One arm went up slowly. Then another.

Peter smiled at him, relieve in his face, before he asked for the first question.

Small steps, on after another. And the world would change.

 

***

 

They celebrated Peter’s success in a hotel bar in Manhattan. Even if there only a part of the audience had been left at the end, that part was what counted. Tony reassured him that they would visit other universities and so, step by step, form a movement for change. Pepper had joined them for a short time, but had to leave early to meet Dr. Banner in order to discuss further steps. The whole thing was moving and they had to stay on top of it to prevent from going to the dogs.

Peter had decided to wear the omega suit for the party. He felt exhausted after the speech and New York still intimidated him. There were many alphas on the streets and he felt their eyes on him since omegas were rare in public. He felt Tony’s urge to protect him too and thus had chosen to wear the suit to give both of them a pause. And it worked. They sat in the bar and nobody bothered them in the slightest. From time to time an alpha raised their head and sniffed confused, but wasn’t able to decipher the whiff and thus ignored it.

Tony watched Peter’s face, who’s eyes were drawn on his drink that he swirled in his glass. Tony enjoyed the sight of him and the quiet moment after the excitement of the day.

“I will go into heat soon again. My body knows that you have not bred me.”

Tony’s head snapped up.  Peter’s face heated up. “But…”

“But what honey?” Tony asked and caressed Peter’s cheek with his fingertips. He smiled reassuringly to let Peter know that he could talk about everything he wished freely. Somehow he suspected where this talk would go, but he needed to hear it from him in words, not between the lines. Peter wanted kids and so Tony waited for him to ask for a breeding.

But Peter surprised him.

“We haven’t… you haven’t taken me until now. And I know you will when we bring down the heat next time.” Tony raised his eyebrows – so the breeding was already decided it seemed. Somehow it was a relieve that Peter pursued his goals with more vigor now.

Peter scowled hat him. “That is not what I want to talk about.” He murmured and Tony thought that he had never seen something so cute.

“What is it then?” he asked and smiled warmly at his omega.

“I want you!” Peter’s voice was still shy but his eyes serious. Tony started to grin.

“Yes?”

“Yes! I want to feel you in me. When I’m conscious. I want to… know how you feel.” Peter turned so red that Tony suspected him to let of steam the next second. To redeem him from his embarrassment, he leaned in closer.

“Who am I to deprive you of something you want?” he murmured and softly pulled Peter in by his neck. The omega looked at him and his eyes caught on his lips.

Tony kissed him. Soft at first but soon the kiss heated up and their tongues started to play with each other.

They decided to leave the bar and continue this discussion in the hotel suite.

Tony made it barely through the door until Peter was on him again, kissing him desperately. Until now they had enough experience in doing that so Tony felt comfortable. He knew by now what Peter liked and how he wanted to be handled and that made him feel more safe. So why not take things a step further?

His fingers crept under Peter’s shirt and the young man shivered with anticipation. But all he touched was silvery fabric.

“Need to get rid of the suit…” Peter murmured blushing and extricated himself from Tony’s embrace to slip into the bathroom. Tony wandered into the room to have a look out of the window. He looked forward to what was about to happen. Tony wanted to show him how good it all could feel without any bitter aftertaste.

Peter emerged from the bathroom, clad in a soft robe and his face a bit red. Even if Peter got more confident in every aspect of his life, in bed he was still somewhat shy and docile. Tony smiled at him and beckoned him closer with his open hand, a gesture that Peter followed more than willingly.

Tony held his waist and looked in those deep brown eyes, taking in the scent of the omega, the soft and sweet fragrance he enjoyed so much. The boy bit his lip shyly, but then opened the belt of his rope with deft fingers. The fluffy fabric slid from his shoulders, leaving smooth skin behind.

Tony’s palm held him safely pressed against his body while his other hand explored the firm softness. Peter had become more muscular in the last month, not the skinny and soft omega anymore. Or not entirely. He held himself with more ease and even in bed Tony noticed the difference. Even more so that Peter had become more confident with it. So it was no surprise for him that Peter’s hands made a journey on their own, pulling on his waistcoat to make him take it off.

As soon as both of them were naked they devoured the marks on the others neck. Peter lapped on Tony’s skin and inhaled the scent like a life elixir. Their bodies touched almost everywhere and Tony felt how his blood caught fire. The alpha caressed Peter’s body with soft strokes and the boy rubbed against him. His breath touched Tony’s ear when he leaned in closely.

“You have used your mouth on me, but… never allowed me to do the same…”

Tony looked in Peter’s eyes. That had been a taboo since it was one of the things that the omega had been trained to do. Tony’s horror had lessened a bit after Peter had explained that they had theoretical lessons in that area and practiced with a wooden phallus but nevertheless… it had had disgusted him.

“I want to taste you…” Peter pleaded.

“And I don’t want you on your knees in front of me.” Tony responded but before Peter could become disappointed he took the boy by the hand and led him to the bed. He showed him how to place himself on the sheets, laying on his side and facing each other so that he could rest his temple on Tony’s thigh while Tony did the same with Peter’s leg. Peter giggled a little because it was somewhat strange to face Tony’s crotch like this while the alphas mouth was only inches apart from his own private parts.

Tony caressed Peter’s leg with his fingers before he started to kiss Peter’s intimate parts to warm him up for more. It helped to distract him from what he was about to try. It obviously felt good since Peter moaned softly. His pink tongue darted out and tasted Tony’s tip which elicited a similar moan from the man.

Slowly they started to lick and taste the other in earnest, Peter opening his legs for Tony to let his tongue slide between his lips. He swirled his own tongue over the head of Tony’s cock and sucked on it playfully. Each moan vibrated on it and sent shivers through Tony’s entire body that he paid him back in kind, humming softly with Peter’s clit between his lips. The omega was so wet already as if in heat. Two fingers submerged without any resistance into his warm entrance and Tony caressed him from the inside.

Peter quickly got a grip on the task at hand and sucked Tony’s cock deeper into his mouth. The obscene sounds he produced made it all even hotter and raunchier. Soon Tony got to stop him or the main course would go to waste. And Peter had ordered to be taken.

The boy pouted at him, but complied as soon as he understood what was about to happen now.

Tony slipped behind him, taking Peter who still was laying on his side into his arms. Their mouths touched, lips and tongues engaging in a heated kiss, tasting each other, while Tony’s hands kneaded Peter’s body.

“Tony… ah… please…” Peter moaned and Tony couldn’t hold out any longer himself. He lifted Peter’s upper leg and let him held it up, to direct his tip to the small but wet opening. Before he pushed inside, he caressed Peter’s slit with his tip, let himself get soaked by the needy pussy, all the while fucking Peter’s mouth with his tongue. Then he pressed inside. It felt good to do that, more than good.

Peter arched his back when he was breached. His mouth disengaged from Tony’s to make way for the loud moan that was drawn from his lips when Tony moved. He was now buried to the hilt in the warm wetness and he felt Peter clenching softly around him.

“Honey… so good-“ he murmured on the heated skin before he pushed back. He grabbed Peter’s leg to hold him still before he moved his hips. His cock slit in and out with no resistance, Peter’s body opening up for him and welcoming him inside. The boy was not addressable anymore, he was too much caught his lust and pleasure, the delight of being filled by Tony, of being fucked.

Now that Tony was sure that he was not hurting him, he started to thrust in earnest, his hips slapping against Peter’s ass. Wet sounds, accompanied by the clapping of skin on skin mixed with their desperate moans filled the room.

When Peter came it was slow and powerful. He went silent and so tense that Tony feared he might break. Only short staccato breaths escaped him until he arched back into Tony’s chest, crying out loud. His cunt twitched and clenched violently, milking Tony’s cock and making him come only seconds after. Instinctively he bit down on Peter’s marking space, sucking hard while his hips thrusted uncontrollably, spurting all of his load deep inside the omegas willing cunt.

 

***

 

Peter caressed Tony’s arm, that was draped over his waist. The alpha snuggled from behind him and took in the sweet after sex scent of his partner. Both of them were sated and happy, content to be here with each other. Peter felt whole and satisfied. Nothing in the world could take away that feeling. Whatever the future might bring… this was perfect.

 

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this and commenting and letting me know your thoughts and feelings. It had been a great time and I will miss you guys very much! <3 <3 <3
> 
> There is an epiloge waiting for you that I hopefully will finish next week :)   
> Until then, if you enjoyed my work (and like Dragon Age) you can have a look on my other story: The Puppy (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16631123/chapters/38988785)


	20. Epilogue

Tony paced the library. His head was spinning and his mind wandered. He knew that there was no reason to be this stressed out. He had tried to focus on the newspaper Happy had brought – good news indeed: The Omega Foundation had elected their first omega head and started to found six projects already. The new movement was talked about almost everywhere and even if most people disliked it, it was in the public debate and that was what counted.

But still, he could not feel joy. Not right now.

He turned at the patio doors and walked back. His eyes stopped at the certificate on the wall.

‘Peter Parker Stark’ was to read there ‘has obtained the high school graduation’. Next to it a photo with a proudly smiling Peter next to him and Pepper, his certificate in hand. It had taken many steps to enable Peter to be allowed to partake in the test at all, but sometimes it was beneficial to be a rich and famous alpha. Tony had just insisted on it and finally Peter had been able to make the test. And passed it with flying colors. Tony would never forget the principals face…

Even that memory wasn’t something to calm him right now though. But it confirmed that Peter was more than capable. The omega had done so much, accomplished so many things. He would be fine. Everything was going to be fine. It must!

Bruce had reassured him that Peter was healthy and everything was like it should. Hopefully Pepper would be home soon. She always knew what to do and to say.

He paced back and forth, opening the door to listen, but heard nothing and paced again. This was torture. He had tried to stay in his barn, but it hadn’t been possible. How was he supposed to work when something like this was happening?! When Peter…

A cry – barely audible but there – sounded through the house. Tony was on the staircase in an instant. But then he noticed that it wasn’t Peter who was screaming… it was the cry of a newborn.

Tears sprang to Tony’s eyes when he arrived at the bedroom door. Bruce had already opened it to step out and get him, drying his hands on a towel. He stepped back and invited him in, gave way for Tony to see the bed. And in there, there he was…Peter.

Tired but so beautiful with a happy smile on his face. And in his arms… a bundle. Small, covered in white towels. Tony hesitantly stepped closer, frightened to disturb the image of peace and wonder. He couldn’t contain either the grin on his face nor the tears slipping down his cheeks.

A small hand peeked out of the towel, oh so small and delicate. He came nearer and Peter patted the bed beside him.

“Look at her, Tony. She is so beautiful…” Peter murmured, his eyes already back at his child. And Tony looked at her and he saw that his omega was right. She was the most precious and beautiful thing he had ever seen. More tears slid down his face and he chuckled about himself when he wiped them away with the back of his hand.

Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's it. Thank you for staying with me in my first english fanfic, your comments and support meant the world to me. :D :*


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